


The Compass Points North

by cadesama



Series: Heals All Wounds [3]
Category: Avatar: Last Airbender
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-22
Updated: 2011-02-21
Packaged: 2017-10-22 16:52:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 32,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/240279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cadesama/pseuds/cadesama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to "Cauterize". The Earth Kingdom has fallen, and now the gang heads to the Northern Tribe to recover.  Too bad the Fire Nation got there first. [Heals All Wounds #3]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Previously in "Heals All Wounds":** Iroh was healed by Katara at the end of The Chase, rather than being driven off by Zuko. In Ba Sing Se, Zuko's scar was healed and he joined up with Team Avatar - only to be perfectly useless in the fight against Azula, when his firebending stopped working. Aang saved his life, getting brushed by the lightning but not shot through the heart. Katara was less lucky, getting hit by a stone dart thrown by a Dai Li agent. Long Feng helped them escape while Iroh stayed behind to give them cover. It was only at Long Feng's suggestion that Zuko was able to save Katara's life. He managed to firebend, cauterizing her wound closed. It is this group of Aang, Sokka, Katara, Toph, Zuko, and Long Feng which now makes it's way North, seeking a healer for Aang.
> 
> * * *

Katara's side ached.

Wind whistled in her ears, her hair whipping against her face, completely undone in the battle and aftermath. One of her silver beads had slipped down a lock of her hair, and it stung her cheek every time it struck. Her hands were clenched tightly in her lap, trying to ignore the dull smack of the bead and the sharp, bright line of pain that ran along her side.

It was a good sign, she knew. The burn hadn't deadened her skin into numbness, and it hadn't pushed her into shock – although the tell tale stain that stiffened her robe, spread across Appa's saddle, and marked even her companions bespoke just how close she'd come due to the blood.

Katara shaded her eyes against the cresting, watery yellow light of the sun. As they'd traveled north, the angle of the sun had changed, until finally its descent toward the horizon turned into nothing more than a slight dip. A nod toward the idea of night. The sun had set as much as it would and now it was climbing once more to the highest point in the sky, its light refracting over the wide expanse of ocean, turning the water into a shimmering pathway beneath them.

Taken by fear as much as exhaustion, the group had slept only in fits and starts on their journey. Toph, curled up by Katara's side, had been the only one to sleep all the way through, with Zuko and Sokka taking their turns at silent vigil by her side and steering. Long Feng had spent much of the time in canny contemplation, lips pursed and fingers steepled. Katara was just glad he didn't bother talking to her.

Aang didn't wake up. He shivered as the air turned colder and winced away from the light when the sun was directly over head. Katara put her hand to his forehead time and again, begging for him to wake up.

Suddenly, Katara's stomach dropped. She clutched wildly at the edge of the saddle, and winced as Toph grabbed hold of her. Long Feng braced himself, and placed an arm over Aang's chest, for all the good it would do if they really did crash. Zuko grabbed the horn of the saddle, glaring fiercely at Sokka's back and shouting something at him that was stolen by the wind.

"What's happening?" Toph shouted, face full of fear.

Katara struggled to look past her, up to where Sokka sat on Appa's head. He was pulling up hard on the reins, trying to control their fall.

"Oh _no_ ," she groaned. "Appa must have fallen asleep!"

"Not quite," Sokka shot back to her, "But be ready for a rough landing!"

They splashed down into the water, Appa's large body slapping hard against the ocean as if it were a solid wall. He roared out in pain, and Katara winced for him. Water sloshed over the side of his saddle, drenching the group. Katara gasped as the cold, salty water washed over her.

"That's some belly flop, buddy," Sokka said sympathetically, and Appa groaned again.

"Ugh!" Toph said. She held out a dripping arm, and squeezed water from the silk of her sleeve. " _How_ long is it going to take to get there? I don't exact want to freeze to death out here!"

"A little longer, Toph," Katara lied, trying to sound optimistic for the other girl. "Here, let me help you."

She reached out a hand toward Toph, bending the water from the other girl's clothes and then her own.

"Thanks, Katara!"

She nodded absently, eyes flicking over to Aang. He was breathing shallowly, skin ashen and clammy. He needed a healer desperately.

Katara held onto the water, trying to pull it together into a coherent ball, shivering at the effort. Katara bit her lip, sweat beading on her forehead as she concentrated. Abruptly, it tore out of her grasp, splashing down onto the saddle and spreading out to wet her knees. She collapsed forward, panting, fists balled on her legs in frustration.

"Why can't I do it?" she cried out.

"You're hurt," Zuko said quietly. His hair was plastered down against his neck, trickles of water dripping down the ripped collar of his tea serving uniform. He was looking out across the ocean, away from her, body taut with tension.

He'd been like that for a while – well, not the wet part. But tense and abrupt with her. Evasive.

"I know I'm hurt!" she snapped, glaring at his back. "Aang's hurt too, and I need to help him!"

Sokka paused in wringing his clothes out. He turned at met her gaze, expression stern and brotherly. He stood, leaving Appa's reins behind to climb into the saddle and settled right in front of her. She looked away from him, arms crossed before her chest – and only partially in defiance. One hand cradled her injury, trying to will away the throbbing pain.

"Katara, you're not gonna help him any if you make yourself sick. We'll be at the Northern City soon," Sokka assured her, adding fervently, "That _has_ to be good enough."

It didn't have to be, but Katara appreciated that he was willing to be an optimist for her sake. It really did run against his nature.

"You should breathe," Zuko advised. He turned just a little, giving her sight of his sharp, lovely profile. He shivered against the chilly wind, and then closed his eyes in concentration, his breathing perfectly even. Steam began to rise from him, evaporating the sea water and leaving fine traceries of white salt on his clothes. His voice was flat and hoarse as he went on, "The fire will burn you up, inside and out, unless you feed it. Just breathe."

Katara did as he told, staring at him as she felt the pain ease. It didn't make sense. He dried himself with such practiced ease, he saved her lived with a brand. His firebending was as strong as any time she'd seen him fight. But she remembered the fight in the Earth King's throne room, the pathetic wisps of smoke he'd produced when it was his own life on the line. She remembered that vivid, terrifying blue lightning racing toward him, while he stood ready to die. She let her hands go limp, fingers curling into the ragged hem of her robes. In the caves, so much had changed. She'd thought she'd made a friend, healed more than his scar, and begun to understand Zuko.

It was clear now she didn't understand him at all.

"Is that what you did?" she asked. "When …"

"My father burned me? No." He angled his head toward her, meeting her eyes for the first time since she had awoken in agony, smell of burning flesh assaulting her nose, his hand pressed to her side as he did the necessary work. "I screamed."

"I guess we have that in common," Katara said with false lightness, trying to ignore the intensity of his eyes.

Zuko turned away from her again, features tight with guilt. She caught her breath, wanting so much to reach out to him in that second, to thank him for saving her life, but somehow the words didn't form. Berating herself for her cowardice, she frowned, looking down at her hands as she focused on her breathing.

"As interesting as this is," Long Feng said. Katara stiffened instantly at the sound of his voice, shooting him a glower. Why had they even _brought_ him? Sokka was going to have some explaining to do, that's all she knew. Long Feng arched an eyebrow at her, and directed her attention over Appa's side. "I believe we have arrived."

Katara followed the length of his finger with her eyes, expression lighting up at the sight of the long icy cliff that housed the Northern City. Water Tribe ships clustered in front of the city battlement, some no doubt ready to set out on fishing expeditions while others returned. And alongside them, waiting in a queue for the ice-lock to open, was a long, ironclad flying Fire Nation colors.

Her breathing stuttered and pain flared again in her side as she wheezed.

"And it seems we are not alone in that," Long Feng added gravely.

" _What_?" Sokka screeched. "They're here! No! No _way_!"

Katara shook her head slowly, trying to make sense of it.

"How could they have known?" she wondered. But really, where else did they have to go? It couldn't have been hard for Azula to figure out they would run back to their nearest allies, ones with healing power no less. The real mystery was how she could have gotten there faster than Appa.

Sokka was clearly following the same line of reasoning. He frowned, looking over the side to study the Fire Nation ship. It was awfully small for a royal vessel, and it had no honor guard. Even Zuko's ship had been more impressive.

"It's not her," he said decisively. "Maybe she sent a messenger hawk or something, but there is _no way_ that is her."

"Okay, you have to stop right there," Toph interjected, standing unsteadily on the saddle. She crossed her arms, and turned slowly in a circle, glaring at anything and everything in front of her. "And you have to start making sense. Time to explain for the blind girl. _Who_ isn't here?"

"Azula," Sokka replied shortly.

Toph twitched her head to the side, puzzled.

"Yippee? I mean, that's a _good thing_ , right?"

"It is," Katara said. "It's definitely a good thing. It's just… _someone_ Fire Nation is here."

"Bei Hu. His name is Bei Hu," Zuko pronounced. He slanted a look over at Sokka, nodding at him to join him at the side of the saddle. Sokka went curiously, listening as Zuko pointed out the markings on the ship. "That's a civilian ship. You see that symbol up near the prow – the seal-bear and star? – it's the family crest of the Bei family. They're sailing under colors of truce."

"Truce?" Sokka echoed, beginning to sputter. "But they're Fire Nation. They can't _do_ that!"

"It just means they're traders, right?" Katara said. She looked over to Zuko, looking for confirmation. He gave a slight shrug and shook his head, still looking out to sea.

"I don't know. Bei Hu isn't a minister or ambassador – or he wasn't, three years ago, before I was banished. I remember him bringing a lot of lavish gifts to the palace when he came to court," Zuko said. His lips twisted ironically. "Father called him a crass little toady – and then accepted the gifts."

"Doesn't sound like much of a threat," Toph concluded. She flopped back down onto the saddle, staring blankly up at the sky. "I bet we could take him."

Katara arched at eyebrow, surveying her companions with a leaden heart. Aang was still out cold, and she didn't trust Long Feng as far as she could throw him. This _really_ wasn't the time to be courting trouble.

"Well, we're not going to figure that out doggy paddling," Sokka decided. He stood, and hopped over the edge of the saddle, sliding back atop Appa's head. He leaned over, talking directly to Appa. "How about just one more short jump? Last one, I promise. Yip yip!"

Appa moaned loudly in protest, but his tail struck out hard on the water, and soon they were airborne once more.

They flew over the ocean and over the ice wall. Guards in the towers shouted as they flew over, and benders paddling their boats on the canals, turned to watch in surprise, almost running their boats into each other. The words didn't reach Katara's ears, but the tone did – friendly, joyful. It was almost enough to make her relax.

Sokka flew them directly to the square in front of Chief Arnook's palace, landing Appa with a thud that made the weak summer ice creak. There was a large gathering of people in the square, pulling water from the central pool and prominent waterfalls. One bender pushed his hands out, water flowing in straight lines out to the next benders who held it steady in a globe in front of him. He drew downward, gracefully moving his entire body as he shaped the water into an elaborate sculpture of pointed, icy tendrils. He and a dozen other benders worked, sculpting decorations to plant between the imposing totems pillars that dominated the square.

One decoration took the shape of a seal-bear; another, the shape of a flame.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" shouted a young man, standing off to the side of the proceedings. He marched up at Appa, who bellowed and clapped his tail against the ice. The young man wheeled backward, slipping and nearly. He shot looks in both directions to make sure no one had noticed before righting himself. He tossed his hair, huffing as he glared up at them. "You can't just park that thing in here!"

"Oh, and who are you to tell us that, _Hahn_?"

"That's _Prince_ Hahn," the other boy corrected. He put his hands on his hips, posing as he glared up at Sokka. "I'm totally the heir now."

"You're _what_? Oh, that is so not on!"

Sokka jumped over Appa's side, ready to poke his machete into the young man's chest. Katara stood to follow, but crumpled backward with a cry of pain. Zuko was quick to come to her aid.

"Hold on," he said, avoiding her gaze as he wrapped one arm around her shoulders. She held tight to his waist, screwed her eyes shut as he lifted her over the edge of the saddle. They slid down Appa's fur together, landing shakily on the ice. Katara gulped down her nausea, vision wavering as the impact jostled her injury.

Zuko released her as soon as he could, backing off quickly.

"Thanks," she said, and he nodded stiffly.

"Teenagers," Long Feng scoffed from beside her. He was still dripping wet, she noted with satisfaction.

"You know, the Earth Kingdom's that way," she snapped, turning around to point in a southerly direction. "Why don't you start swimming?"

"So, uh, guys?" Toph called, head poking over Appa's saddle. "Is anyone going to help _me_ down? Or Twinkletoes?"

Long Feng rolled his eyes, but in the first burst of usefulness since Katara had met the man, he went to Toph's aid. While he was doing that, Chief Arnook waded into the brewing fight between Sokka and Hahn, warding hands splitting them apart. They fumed, glaring into each others' eyes, and Arnook gave them one distracted glance before approaching Katara directly. He paid no mind to either Zuko, or Long Feng.

"Katara of the Southern Tribe, it is a pleasure to see you again," he said, bowing to her.

She offered a feeble and jerky bow in return, smiling apologetically. Her hand was pressed to her side, and his eyes widened as he took in the sight. He turned, signaling quickly to the other men.

"Bring Yugoda!" Arnook said, before leveling another look at Katara. He smiled ruefully to her. "Then I suppose this is not a simple visit."

"I'm afraid not," Katara said. Long Feng walked up from behind her, carrying Aang in his arms. Arnook breathed in sharply, worry lining his face as he looked at the fallen Avatar. Katara swallowed deeply, adding, "He needs your help. We flew as fast as we could, but I don't know…"

"Of course," Arnook said. He turned and scanned the assembled crowd of benders, their jobs abandoned as they stared at their Chief and the surprise visitors. He quickly found the same man he'd told to bring the healer, and he amended his command, "Qiriq, we can't wait for Yugoda to get here. Take…" He trailed off, casting a look in Long Feng's direction.

"Long Feng," he supplied.

Arnook nodded, and continued, "Take him and the Avatar to the healing huts, fast as you can!"

Qiriq separated from the crowd, and Long Feng followed him down the stairs to the closest canal, carrying Aang. One piece of the walkway ice broke off, forming a makeshift boat beneath their feet, which Qiriq sped up the canal, fast enough to create a white wake that washed up against the nearby houses. Katara's heart clenched as she watched them go, wishing she was by Aang's side.

"So," Toph said into the silence. "Is anyone going to help me back onto Appa? It's _cold_ down here."

"You should wear shoes," Zuko said, looking down at the top of her head. He knelt down, grasping her by the waist to boost her onto Appa's side. She struggled up the rest of the way herself, very nearly – and probably deliberately – kicking him in the face.

"No you," she replied, voice muffled as she pressed her face happily to the saddle's side.

"Chief Arnook," said Hahn. He bowed to the chief, and then gestured wildly toward Appa. "Shouldn't we make them move? Chen is going to be here soon!"

Arnook gave the boy a narrow look, before sighing. He rubbed a hand across his face.

"Hahn has a point. While you are always welcome here, your visit has not come at the best possible time for us. "

"The Fire Nation ship," Sokka said, voice low and tight.

"Just that. The Bei family has come to negotiate an armistice with the Northern Tribe. You all saw how my city suffered under the Fire Nation assault this past year. The Avatar's defense saved us all, but we are still recovering from the damage they wrought. And even though there have been no further attacks, our city is under blockade to the east, cutting off our trade route to the Earth Kingdom."

Katara shared a look with Sokka. That didn't really match up with what Zuko had said about Bei Hu. If he was just a merchant, it didn't make sense that he could offer any kind of peace with the Northern Tribe. But more importantly, why were they willing to _take it_?

The Southern Tribe had sent their men away – Katara's _father_ – two years ago, to fight the war against the Fire Nation. Their village was tiny and shattered, all of the waterbenders captured or killed long ago, and here was the great city of the North, ready to fold after just one battle. Katara clenched her jaw, casting an angry look around the square. The great totems still stood strong, the palace was untouched, and even the battlements guarding the city had been repaired. That was the advantage of building from water, after all. It was so easy just wash away the damage.

Outrage choked off the words building in her chest. She settled for giving Arnook an angry, disappointed look. Beside her, Zuko shifted uneasily, and she wondered if he was going to speak up. But Arnook hadn't realized his identity yet, and it was probably best to keep it that way as long as possible.

"Sir, with all due respect," Sokka started in a tone more civil than Katara could have managed, but terse nonetheless. "I don't think a peace treaty is the right way to go. We have a plan, and I'd like to talk to you about it."

"I am quite willing to listen," Arnook replied. "Later. I will see you after you have rested, at our welcoming feast."

He gestured for two of the men to come forward. One he pointed to Appa, giving the command to take him to the stables. Toph yelped loudly from his back as he started forward, poking her head back over the edge of the saddle to remind them she was there. Once down again, Zuko very grudgingly bent down, pulling her onto his back. Despite her ire at Arnook, it was all Katara could do to suppress a smile. The other man nodded to Sokka and turned around, leading them into the palace.

* * *

The sun, hanging low behind the vast ice walls of the city, cast the palace and decorations in a warm orange light that suited the garden of ice sculptures that filled the great square. Sokka marked the time by the sun's height – it was late. _Really_ late. And he didn't know if the delay for the ceremony was for the benefit of his own group, or so the Fire Nation guests could be welcomed in style. Probably the latter, he concluded glumly, much as it was nice to think that the group napping the afternoon away might have annoyed Bei Hu.

After being led to expansive palace suites, the group had nearly been inundated by attendants. A healer for Katara, easing her pain and bringing reassuring color back to her face. Clothes for everyone in the bedraggled and bloodied group, and a decent pair of mukluks for Toph in particular, who screwed her face up in complaint while they forced the boots on, but was happier for her feet all the same. And lastly, before Sokka could crawl wearily into bed – or who cared about a bed? He'd been just as ready to curl up on the ice – an etiquette advisor to make sure the group didn't step on any toes.

And despite the silvery beads woven into her braids, despite the tufted ibex-mane she wore over her shoulders, there was just a little of the Joo Dees about her. Enough, anyway, for Toph to slowly and carefully feel her way across the room, using the icy walls as a guide, just for the pleasure of slamming the door in the pompous woman's face.

Nonetheless, they'd gotten the point. Sokka and the others were friends given temporary safe harbor. The Bei family, however, were honored guests.

The contrast was all the more apparent when they were summoned to dinner. Settled at the far end of the high table, Sokka and the others were pushed to the very edge of the platform, seated quietly and first before Arnook and the Bei family entered with fanfare.

"Well," Sokka started. He leaned back, planting his hands into the tiger-seal fur obligingly provided for them to sit on. " _This_ is awkward."

"Shush up, Sokka!" Katara hissed. She jerked her head toward the arrayed elders that sat next to her, all the way down the length of the table, and Sokka shrugged in response. _Exactly_. That was his point.

In front of them, a grand ceremonial performance of waterbending was unfolding – led by one of the lesser masters, Sokka noted happily. Not nearly as impressive as what Pakku had done for them.

The Bei family sat on the other end of the high table, Bei Hu himself at Arnook's side. His wife and daughters sat still and placid next to him. They looked like a line of perfect dolls, their inky black hair spilling down the backs of their vibrantly red quilted-silk robes. His wife seemed hesitant to eat, inspecting each morsel of food carefully before reaching out with delicate fingers to swiftly pick it up and pop in into her mouth, an occasional expression of disgust crossing her face. Whatever, some people just didn't know how to appreciate good whale blubber. Her daughters ate with far less restraint, though they maintained their impeccable manners.

Bei Hu was a different matter. He ate with gusto, rose from his seat from time to time to loudly applaud the benders, and lifted his glass frequently to toast his hosts. He leaned in to Arnook, sharing a joke, and both erupted in simultaneous laughter.

"Seriously, you _don't_ have a problem with this?" Sokka asked, staring down the line at the shaking, amused backs of both men.

"You know I do! But this _isn't_ the time!" Katara snapped. One of the elders turned, glowering through rheumy and yellow eyes at her. She winced and raised her hands in a sign of surrender. The man grunted with disapproval, shaking his jowly face as he looked away.

Sokka had the sinking feeling that she was wrong. He watched as Bei Hu talked with Arnook, very aware that this was politics, right now. It wasn't friendship – or he _hoped_ it wasn't, because if it was, then the right time had passed a long time before. It was the first stage of negotiation. And much as he hated to think so, peace for the Northern Tribe was the last thing he wanted. Not now, not with the eclipse only a few months away, not with the Earth Kingdom fallen.

The Northern Tribe was their last chance to make the invasion plan work, and it killed Sokka to sit and watch Arnook unknowingly throw it all away.

Stomach churning, Sokka turned away from Arnook and Bei Hu, looking over Toph's head to Zuko. He was quietly conversing with Long Feng, uncomfortable expression on his face matched in intensity by the crafty one on Long Feng's face. Yeah, okay, _that_ probably wasn't a good thing either.

The platters of food remained untouched in front of them both, and while he had expected Long Feng to turn up his nose at utensil-less eating – wasn't that on the Earth Kingdom list of "barbarian" customs? – he was less sanguine about the snubbing from Zuko. Since Ba Sing Se, he'd begun to think of Zuko as his kind of guy. He couldn't deny that saving Katara's life was worth a lot of points with him. Zuko was a little – no, _a lot_ – on the broody side, but he seemed overall decent despite their bad beginning and he was apparently more used to roughing it than Sokka had expected of a prince.

So, yeah, he was going to have eat Water Tribe style, and he was going to _like it_.

"It's not going to bite you," Sokka said, pitching his voice to interrupt whatever nonsense Long Feng was spouting. Zuko turned in surprise.

Rather than protest that the food was gross, or somehow beneath him, Zuko just haplessly gestured with his hand, thumb and forefinger coming together as if wielding chopsticks.

"How do you…?"

"Like so," Sokka said, demonstrating grandly by picking up a seared arctic scallop and tossing it up into the air. He caught it with his mouth, and then bowed smugly to Zuko. "Using the chopsticks nature gave you!"

Steely glint in Zuko's eye, he squared his shoulders and selected what probably looked like the most inoffensive items on the platter – unfortunately, it was a stewed sea prune. It squished in Zuko's grasp, juice trickling down his hand. He clumsily flipped it up in the air, far too low. He ducked his head, trying to get under it.

The sea prune hit him square between the eyes, splattering salty brown juice across his entire face.

Sokka cracked up, arm coming around his stomach as he quaked with laughter. Katara stifled a giggle next to him, while further down the line, Long Feng rolled his eyes. Zuko glowered, which really just made it funnier.

"Come on, man. You have to admit, it's a _little_ funny," Sokka urged. "Besides, if you haven't caught a sea prune in the face, then you _aren't_ really a man."

"That is, sadly, true," Katara confirmed with a nod of false sagacity, eyes warm. And you know, that look plus the guy it was aimed at weren't really things that Sokka was going to think about right now. He had enough on his plate – metaphorically speaking, of course.

Zuko looked between them, suspicion melting just a little. He wiped off his face, offering Sokka back the smallest of smiles.

"So tell me why you eat this stuff?"

"Well, I try not to. Now this stuff over _here_ ," Sokka gestured at the untouched platter of cured tiger-seal meat, smoked fish, and half-shelled arctic oysters. "This is the food of kings."

Eyebrow arched, Zuko passed him the plate.

"Then I guess we should keep it away from Hahn."

Oh, ugh. Sokka had almost forgotten about him. He twisted around, searching down the line of the high table for that twit's glossy, stupidly pretty hair. Sokka found him, positioned at Arnook's left hand, raising his glass in a toast to something Bei Hu had just said.

"So, what's up with you guys anyway?" Toph said. She had been eating voraciously throughout their conversation, but finished now, slurping grease off of her fingers with a delighted smack. "How did he 'get to be' the heir?"

"Maybe he killed someone," Zuko muttered.

Sokka's jaw clenched as he cast a dark look over at him.

"I don't know why he's a prince now — I don't really get the North. That's not how we do things in the South, at all. We don't even do royalty. But Hahn was supposed to marry Princess Yue before… " The words stuck in his throat. He swallowed deeply, and shook his head, trying to ignore that hard knot of guilt and longing that always came along with her name. "I guess that means his dad was a bigwig, that he could marry the princess. Even without her, he's still really important to the tribe."

"Well, that's stupid," Toph pronounced. "He was important because he was marrying the princess, but now he's _not_ marrying her… and he's still important? So, what, she didn't matter at all?"

"No! That's not what—"

Katara elbowed him, pointing two fingers at the elders and tracing their eye lines over to Sokka. She shook her head sternly, and then turned a kinder, completely unnecessary look toward Toph.

"Arnook wouldn't do that. He loved his daughter. Hahn just proved himself in the siege, I'm sure," she said.

"Whatever." Toph snorted and let the topic drop, having exhausted her interest in the politics of the North.

Sokka stomach churned, and the fine plate of fancy meats in front of him suddenly made him queasy. He pushed it away, and cast yet another unhappy look down the line of the high table. He just wished he had the chance to _talk_ to Arnook.

There was commotion down at that end of the table, murmuring rising and then falling just as quickly as Arnook stood. He raised his arms wide above his head, voice pitched to fill the entire square, "Tonight we welcome Bei Hu and his family, the honorable ambassadors of the Northern Fire Nation territories. They bring not only many treasures to share with us, but an even greater gift that humbles me as much as it gives me hope: _peace_."

The assembled townspeople and Fire Nation delegation seated at the tables lining the squared cheered, some reaching out to clasp hands as if the deal were already done.

Bei Hu stood next to Arnook, smiling at the taller man as he placed a friendly hand on his shoulder. The cheer rose again, and Hu lifted a hand, waving them into silence.

"I am honored to be your guest once more Chief Arnook," he said, turning half way to offer the traditional Fire Nation bow. Sokka's jaw dropped at the declaration. _Once more?_ "It has been too long, and are people have suffered too much in the mean time. I mean to make amends for that, with all the power vested in me by the Fire Lord."

Sokka darted a quick look over at Zuko.

"How much power is that?" he whispered.

Zuko rolled his eyes.

"None."

"Our gifts to the Water Tribe are eight in number – to bring prosperity to both of people. Two from my beloved wife, Xin," Hu was saying. He held out a hand, and his wife rose in one elegant motion. Her hair swayed as she stood, a mother of pearl hairpin glittering in the midnight sun.

Two men in Fire Nation clothes, seal-bear and star crest prominent on the front of their robes, entered the square, carrying oblong obsidian bowls. They were filled with – and here Sokka squinted, because that was a _gift_ , seriously? – white rice.

"From the terraced hills and mountains of the Northern Territories, we give you jasmine rice and aromatic rice, so you may have warm food during your cold winters," she said. Despite her delicate appearance, her voice was strong and forceful, her gaze unyielding as she looked out over the gathering. She looked more like she was giving orders than giving gifts.

The men bowed, offering the bowls up with two hands. Arnook bowed back to them, and gestured to two waterbenders. They bent a table up from the ice before the men, who set the gifts on it.

Bei Xin knelt down on the furs once more, flipping the hem of her robe up as she did before smoothing her hands down her knees.

"Two gifts from my elder daughter, Chen," Hu continued.

Chen? Sokka mouthed the name, wondering why it was familiar. A teenage girl only a bit older than Katara rose from where her mother sat. Her face was small and heart shaped. She wore make up, which Sokka had rarely seen outside of Ba Sing Se, although hers was of a different style. It was more natural, but for her vibrantly red lips.

Several of the men in the square murmured appreciatively, nudging each other; Bei Xin sent each a chilly death glare, while Hu grinned. One of the first men to wither under Xin's stare was Hahn, and Sokka gaped as he made the connection.

"Two, two, two," Toph said from next to him. She made a gagging sound and flopped forward onto the table, looking desperately bored. "This is worse than my cousin's wedding."

"I think you might be more right than you know," Sokka said back to her, voice tight with suspicion and anger.

Two more men entered, obsidian bowls this time filled with a weird curly kind of bark and tiny brown seed pods.

"From the hills and meadows of the Northern Territories, we give you cassia bark and _hua jiao_ , to bring spice and flavor to your lives," Chen said. If there was a twist to her lips, an undertone to her voice that gave the words a double meaning, her expression gave no hint that it was intentional. Her father's, on the other hand, did.

Katara glared down the table at the other teen as she settled back on the furs.

"Two gifts from my younger daughter, Hana," Bei Hu said.

A little girl stood, hastily and with all the aplomb an eight year old could manage. So not much, actually. She smiled shyly at the crowd, before stiffening as if remembering herself. She held her hand up, and said the ceremonial words as the servants came in bearing samples of her gifts.

"From the orchards and woods of the Northern Territories, we bring you dragon fruit and durian, so our time together can be sweet!"

She bit her lip, raised hands curling into a little wave to the gathered people, and then to every person sitting at her own table. Heaving a great sigh, Chen pulled on Hana's robe, and the girl flushed. She ducked down quickly to sit at her sister's side.

"Okay," Sokka said, leaning onto the table to point at Bei Hana. "I don't have too much pride to admit it. She's adorable."

"That's just what they want you to think," Toph grumped back.

Which was fair. It probably was all a cunning gambit. Very cunning, since it seemed to be working.

With all of the gifts assembled, Arnook left his spot at the high table to go inspect it. He dipped his hand into the rice, scratched a thumb across the back of the cassia back, and lifted a spiky durian section up to smell. He recoiled immediately, but had just enough grace not to drop it. He bestowed a nod of acceptance on Bei Hu, all the while surreptitiously trying to wipe his hand on the back of his robe.

Taking that as a cue, Bei Hu continued, "And to you, Chief Arnook of the Northern Water Tribe, I give a promise of peace-bond while we negotiate and the promise of silence. No letters – not a single one – will leave my ship until our negotiations are completed."

"I too can offer you my promise," Arnook said. "No harm will come to any of your men, nor to any member of your family – under the harshest penalties of my people."

Which were probably putting people on an ice floe and pushing them out to sea, Sokka figured. The Northern Tribe seemed a little old fashioned, that way.

"That is no surprise to me, old friend," Bei Hu said with a smile. He turned and looked down the line of the table, directly at Zuko who froze under the sudden attention, "You have already been so gracious to my Prince."

The square erupted in noise, curious and confused murmuring quickly giving way to shouting. Huh, you know, Sokka hadn't really thought Zuko was all that recognizable anymore. And did they even get Fire Nation wanted posters all the way up here?

Zuko stood, arms crossed as he stared across at Bei Hu.

"You are looking well, Majesty," Hu said, there was a look on his face that Sokka did not like.

Cunning indeed.

* * *

The wall was an icy line on Zuko's back. He breathed smoke from his nose, keeping himself warm, but relished that chill nonetheless. It was one small, bright reminder of the last time he'd been in this city, swimming through deadly cold water and fighting between snow and ice.

He stared across the great hall of the palace, where he had been brusquely ushered after the abrupt end of the welcome dinner, over to the assembled elders. Zuko had never been in this room before, since he had been very notably the opposite of an honored guest the last time he was here. The high ceiling rivaled the towering heights of any Air Temple he had searched, and there was a clear skylight of nearly transparent ice at the ceiling's very apex through which the faint midnight sun still shone. The room itself was dominated by four huge, winged totems of ice. At the back of the room there was a raised, decorative dais of ice where the elders had gathered together. Their furs rustled, heads dipped low as they conferred with each other. They would look up from time to time, the group shifting and changing as they argued. They looked like nothing so much as a pack of animals, strangely assembled from wolves, seal-bears, and ibexes though it was.

A hand clapped down on Zuko's shoulder, startling him. He looked up to see Long Feng offer a thin smile.

"You'll catch your death, doing that," he said, tone ironic as he inclined his head to indicate the smoke. "I don't think they need to see you firebending at a time like this."

"Maybe they do. A reminder of who they're dealing with," Zuko snapped back. He crossed his arms sullenly across his chest, and pressed his head back against the wall, slitting his eyes as he watched the elders argue.

Sokka and Katara knelt uncertainly near them, while Toph was hunched by the opposite wall, miserable at the setting but unwilling to leave such an important meeting. In the beginning, they had been the ones bearing the brunt of the elders' anger. Arnook, losing that paternal friendliness Zuko had almost grown used to, yelled at them, asking why they would bring the Fire Prince into his city. Why they would _lie_ about it.

"We didn't lie," Sokka had defended weakly. "You just didn't ask."

The conversation had turned to what the elders were going to do now that he was here, and now that he had been welcomed under the auspices of their hospitality. Not that it made much difference, in Zuko's opinion. The Northern Tribe had already been planning on throwing them out as soon as Aang was better.

"Enough!" Arnook shouted suddenly. He held a hand up, stopping one elder from pulling another's wolf skin headdress down over his face. "I think we have more than made ourselves clear to each other. It is time we asked the boy."

Zuko bristled instantly at the appellation. _Boy_? They were considering kicking him out – _banishing him_ – because he was Fire Prince. They ought to at least have the decency to use his title.

He shrugged away from the wall, head held high and jaw set as he walked calmly to confront them. Sokka and Katara rose warily to stand next to him. The elders collected themselves, fanning out behind Arnook – but for one, who leaned on a bone cane as he glared at Zuko from Arnook's side.

"I heard you were scarred, boy," the elder said. "Don't look scarred to me."

"I healed him," Katara said. She stepped forward, a prideful jut to her chin at she met the old man's eyes. "With water from the Spirit Oasis."

The elder nodded, as if he had suspected as much. He turned from the group, grunting as he walked his way to the back of the hall to sit on the ice steps. Zuko watched him go warily, wondering if that would be his last word on the matter.

It was Arnook, however, who voiced the complaint clearly swelling amid the group.

"That water was a gift, Katara, to be used in a dire emergency. It was not meant to indulge mere _vanity_."

Zuko clenched a hand at his side. He could feel the fire licking at his palm, wanting to come out. He was shaken by the readiness, by the power suddenly at his beck and call. It had been there since that horrible night, his hand pressed to Katara's side, sometimes burning so hot he thought it might turn blue.

He knew why, and the thought made him feel sick at the same time that it made the fire burn all that much brighter. Anger. Self-loathing. It was all he could feel any time he looked at her, and she hadn't left his side since Ba Sing Se. Even without Katara, there was the change she had wrought. He was in a city made of ice, and there was no lack of reflections.

It was becoming harder and harder to bear looking at himself.

She'd saved him, freed him from his Nation and his father, and in return he had burned her. If she'd never healed him, she would have had the spirit water. If she'd never healed him, he couldn't honestly say he would be here today, standing by her side.

So what did that make him?

"It wasn't vanity!" Katara argued. She stepped forward, expression fierce and beautiful as she gestured broadly. "You weren't there, and you don't know. We were fighting for our lives in Ba Sing Se. Without Zuko, I would have died! You can ask your healers – they saw what he did for me."

"And, you know," Sokka put in, crossing his arms. "I don't exactly do bending. So, spirit water – nice in theory. Complete waste if you don't have anyone to use it."

"Young fool," Long Feng muttered from beside Zuko. He bent down, adding for Zuko's benefit alone, "That is not how you persuade an enemy."

Zuko gave him an annoyed look. He'd had more than enough etiquette lessons in his lifetime, and he very well knew the cost of disrespecting an elder. For Sokka and Katara to do that for him meant a lot to him.

Even if it was stupid.

There was obstinate muttering among the elders; Arnook tried to placate them despite his own obvious, growing frustration with Katara and Sokka. Keelut, an older, crotchety man Zuko had noticed fixing him with particularly suspicious looks earlier jabbed a thin finger in his direction.

"An ally who can be bought at such a cost is one hardly worth the price," he said, old voice wavering and cracking as he spoke.

From along the wall, Toph snorted.

"Okay, now that's what I call irony," she said loudly. She was swaddled in fur, nothing more than tufts of her hair visible between the layers of white seal-bear hair. And it was clear she was unwilling to move, expecting everyone to just come to her.

Which they did.

"What was that, young lady?" asked Arnook, as the entire crowd stepped closer to her.

"You guys, with your big welcome feast for your Fire Nation allies yelling at Katara and Sokka for having one too. It's ironic," Toph said, speaking slowly to make sure they kept up.

" _He_ is the Fire Prince," said Keelut coldly. "The last time he was here, he defiled our sacred Spirit Oasis, tried to kill the Avatar, and devastated our city with his ships."

Zuko rolled his eyes. He didn't supposed telling them that it was all Zhao would be very effective.

"He's changed," Katara said. The line of her back was straight as she looked at old Keelut, her voice was clear and strong.

"You haven't spoken," Arnook said, looking directly at Zuko.

They hadn't actually asked him anything.

"What's there to say?" he replied, voice rough and quiet as he looked back, raising his chin to meet the Chief's eyes.

"Will you respect our city?" Arnook asked. His voice became loud, formal. "Will you respect our laws and customs? Will you keep the peace-bond that your kinsman promised?"

It was hard to resist snapping back that Bei Hu was _not_ his kinsman – and then again, not that hard. Not in a city of ice, with guards and benders at his back as much as his own horrible memories of this place. He couldn't leave fast enough, and if all he had to do was play nice, then he would happily oblige.

He placed a fist against his palm, bowing to the Chief.

"I will respect your city, your laws, and your peace-bond, honored elders," he said.

Arnook held his gaze for a long moment, before nodding. Mollified, if not pleased.

"There is another matter I would like discuss," Long Feng started, speaking for the first time directly to the elders. He stepped forward, bowing deeply with hands tucked into the sleeves of his parka, as the elders shared skeptical looks. "If I may?"

"Oh, this'll be good," Katara muttered. She stepped back, standing along the wall near Toph, happy to be out of the fray despite her skepticism. Sokka watched Long Feng with a contemplative look, and even the pile of fur Toph was in seemed to perk up.

"You have met the Bei family in friendship to discuss a renewal of the Northern Armistice, am I correct?" Long Feng asked.

Dark looks crossed Katara and Sokka's faces, Zuko noted with surprise. There was a reason, after all, that the Northern Tribe hadn't fought the Fire Nation in eighty-five years. He remembered learning about that treaty at the Royal Fire Academy for Boys, reciting the long litany of signatories, dates for the handful of violations, and the eventual circumstances that led to his grandfather Azulon dissolving it entirely in his later years. Mostly that had been due to ambition. The histories glossed it over with accusations of territorial disputes, but the fact of the matter was that for much of Azulon's reign, he hadn't truly pursued the war. He had defended colonies and maintained the homeland, he had whittled away at the Southern Tribe and fought skirmishes in the Earth Kingdom, but it wasn't until he had a son of an age to prove himself in battle that he bothered prosecuting the war properly.

And then in a few short years, the war was nearly won. Ba Sing Se was ready for the taking at Uncle Iroh's feet. A siege of the South would have been laughably easy, and of the North hardly a measure more difficult.

Any sense of pride Zuko felt for his uncle's achievements was deadened by the weight of reality. Ba Sing Se had fallen – not to Uncle Iroh, but to Azula. Zuko's stomach tightened with guilt and fear at the thought of his uncle. He didn't even know what had happened to him, only that Uncle Iroh sacrificed himself for their escape, for the hope of the Avatar winning the war. And now the North was on the verge of throwing that away completely, surrendering under the selfish delusion that they were buying peace.

Idiots.

"I, along with these children, have traveled from Ba Sing Se," Long Feng continued, his voice silky and low, head still half bowed as if in obeisance. The elders stood with straight postures, eyes measuring and expressions flattered as they listened far more attentively than they had to Katara or Sokka. Zuko glowered at them. "My city is fallen, and we are seeking aid from the great Tribe of the North. I understand that the needs of your own people must be sought first, but I want you to consider an alternative to the Bei family's peace. You have here, standing before you, the rightful heir to the Fire Throne. Aid him, and us, to take it back, and you will never have to worry about your people's safety again."

Murmurs rippled through the room. Zuko shifted uncomfortably as all the eyes of the elders once more settled upon him, skepticism mixed with a venal kind of suspicion. Keelut raked a look over him, shaking his head distrustfully.

His eyes lingered on Zuko, but he spoke to Long Feng, pitching his scratchy voice louder, "Why should we trust him – or you?"

Long Feng rested a hand on Zuko's shoulder; despite himself, he didn't shrug it off. He did turn, however, giving the older man a dirty look. Uncle he was _not_.

"As you have said, honored elders, this boy is indebted to you." He cast a lingering look over toward Katara, and the elders followed suit. With a sly smile, Long Feng added, "Much more than you think."

Zuko's fist clenched at the pronouncement. He watched as Katara tucked her hair behind her ear nervously, unhappy at the attention. She looked up, catching his eye, and his anger fled him suddenly. He swallowed, and looking down to stare at his feet, his reflection in the shining ice floor.

"What are you proposing?" Arnook asked. "My people are hardly interesting in fomenting a civil war, and have little interest in the internal politics of the Fire Nation."

"Wow," Sokka said, under his breath, but still not quiet enough to escape Arnook's attention. Sokka continued blithely, leaning over to add for Katara, "He says it like that, and it actually sounds really bad."

"We're not trying to cause a civil war!" she protested.

Long Feng gave them both an irritated look, and the room settled once more into silence.

"If I may, Chief Arnook, that does not seem the wisest philosophy," Long Feng said, voicing Zuko's own thoughts. Well, in a less inflammatory way than Zuko would. Having no interest in the politics of the Fire Nation was both stupid and suicidal, in his opinion. "However, I am not asking for you to fight on Prince Zuko's behalf, merely your own.

"In two months, the Fire Nation will be at its weakest, during the Day of Black Sun. On that day, there will be a total solar eclipse which will nullify their firebending, leaving the capitol vulnerable. The Avatar and our allies in the Earth Kingdom," he said, lying smoothly enough that Zuko almost thought they _had_ allies in the Earth Kingdom, "as well as our allies from your sister tribe in the South will band together to invade the Fire Nation, deposing the Fire Lord and placing Prince Zuko on the throne."

Wait. _That_ was their plan? Zuko shot a horrified look over at Sokka, but the other boy seemed consumed with his own worries.

"Aw," Sokka groaned aloud. "I wanted to say it!"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regarding the "two, two, two" comment that Toph makes about the gifts, it's a cross-language pun. "Two" obviously sounds similar to the Chinese "tu" (吐), which means to vomit or spit. Basically, Toph is gagging on the cheesy number symbolism.


	2. Chapter 2

Aang's nose itched. He inhaled sharply, eyes screwed up and nose twitching. Cold air was sharp in his lungs, tickling his nostrils along with something else. He cracked an eye open.

"Momo?" he croaked.

The small, furry lemur was curled up on his chest, tail moving in feverish, jerky swishes in front of Aang's chest. A smile broke out over Aang's face. He ached along the line of his back, and there was a dull throb of pain that accompanied every heart beat, focused right in the center of his chest. Momo's heat soothed it, just a little.

"Good to see you, buddy," Aang murmured, stretching his shoulders as he tried to sit up. Momo slid from his chest into Aang's lap, startling as he woke up. He skittered up Aang and around his shoulders, chattering worriedly into Aang's ear. He patted at the lemur, adding uncertainly, "Don't worry. I'm fine."

He didn't feel the slightest bit fine. His head hurt and he didn't know where he was and he didn't know where Katara was. He was hunched into a bundle of furs on a floor of packed snow, staring across the room at an ill kempt fire pit and ice totems. Which had to mean Water Tribe. A tiny spark of hope kindled in his chest, banked and small, but reassuring nonetheless. Katara and Sokka brought him here. They must have. And that meant they were okay, that even though he failed –

Aang cut the thought off, frowning to himself. Guru Pathik had taught him that he shouldn't indulge in guilt, or other negative emotions. He took a deep breath of air; calming, centering air that was Aang's most reliable element. The guilt lingered, gnawing at Aang's stomach along with an unhealthy amount of fear.

Well, yeah, he hadn't really been Guru Pathik's best student. He remembered that much.

"Oh!" a nearby voice chirped. "You're awake!"

Aang blinked in surprised. The voice came from a little girl. She was sitting cross legged at a small ice table only a few feet away, clutching a knit doll, caught mid way in pouring pretend tea for herself when she noticed him. Her black hair was pinned up and decorated with wooden beads, and she was draped in a red silk robe tufted with thick bands of white fur. It was embroidered with small flame insignia.

"Um, hi," he said, completely bewildered. The longer he was awake, the more his wits were coming back to him, but that didn't exactly account for a Fire Nation girl wandering around what he assumed was the Northern City.

Seriously, _where was Katara_? Where was _everyone_?

The girl hurried over to him, casting a look out the nearby door as she did – checking to see if her parents were nearby, Aang guessed. Sure that they were alone, any potential shyness fell away entirely. She dropped down into a childish heap of limbs and silks onto the fur next him, looking at him with wide, golden eyes. He edged away, just a bit, clutching Momo closer to his chest.

"You have a flying lemur!" she exclaimed. "Mother said they all died, but they're real and you have one. Is it okay if I touch him?"

"Um."

"I looked everywhere for one back home, but there aren't any!" she continued in a giddy rush, completely ignoring his awkward shifting. "Mother wouldn't let me keep one anyway, but I really want one, they're so cute. Is it true you're the Avatar?"

Aang scratched his neck, trying to look around her for help. If she were anything other than an exuberant little girl, he probably would have spun up an airscooter by now and dashed off to find Katara. But that seemed a little… rude.

"Yeah," he admitted eventually. "I'm the Avatar."

She didn't _look_ dangerous.

"That's so cool! And you can …" She wove her hands through the air, making whooshing sounds that even Sokka would have been proud of. Aang started to smile. "You're one of the _mang_!"

Aang's stomach dropped, smile dying on his lips. His hand dropped down onto Momo, who chattered angrily at the sudden smack and hopped off his lap, settling a few paces away to watch him suspiciously.

"Wow, uh, I haven't heard that word in a long time," Aang said weakly.

He hadn't heard it often at the Temples growing up, either. His brother novices didn't get to travel the way he did as a master, and most of them never even knew there was a slur for Air Nomads. They didn't know that there were places airbenders were hated or that _traveler_ could take on such a hurtful tone if the person said it just right.

Monk Gyatso had tried to protect Aang. Not by keeping him ignorant – never that – but by preparing him, teaching him that words only had the power given to them. Aang had left him with a puffed up chest, proud of his people and ready to face down any of the misguided, bigoted souls he might find out in the far flung cities he traveled to. In the end, though, he heard the word first close to home, trading goods in the town market closest to the Southern Air Temple.

Aang pressed his mouth into a line. It was so much easier when all he remembered were the nice things from the past.

The girl nodded blithely, extending a hand toward Momo. He sniffed at her fingers, and she giggled at the sensation.

"Father says the _mang_ are all gone. It's really sad. They built such pretty buildings, and they could fly. I want to fly," she said, pouting just a bit.

"Sorry, but you can't," Aang said. And he _really_ wasn't trying to be mean. Except he sort of was.

"That's okay," she said. Aang's shoulders slumped. This was one relentlessly cheerful little girl.

"So, uh, what are you doing here? What's your name?"

"I'm Hana, and my dad's talking with the Chief today. They're going to end the war, or something, but all of that's boring."

"They're _what_?" Aang jumped up, spinning the cool air beneath him as he settled back onto the furs on the floor lightly. At some point, someone had redressed him in Water Tribe clothes, and if he weren't busy freaking out, he might have been grateful for the toasty, knit socks they had given him.

Okay, breathe, Aang commanded himself, eyes darting around the room. Peace was a good thing, right? That was his entire goal.

But not _now_! He wanted to shout, to pull at the hair he didn't have in frustration. Pain throbbed in his chest, memories he didn't want to dwell on flickering through his mind. There couldn't be peace after what happened in Ba Sing Se. That didn't make sense. Peace meant _surrender_.

It meant he'd failed.

"Who is your father?" Aang snapped, fixing his gaze on Hana. So help him, if Zuko had _another_ sister, he was going to scream.

"My father is _Hou_ Bei Hu, baron of the third rank, governor of the Northern Territory," Hana rattled off, eyes slipping shut in concentration as she tried to remember the scripted words.

Okay. So. Not the Fire Lord.

"Wait," Aang blurted out, staring at her. At the wooden prayer beads in her hair. "What Northern Territory?"

There were only small islands to the north of the main island, and as exaggerated as her father's rank was, it still sounded honest. Territorial governor had to be of more than a single island. But the only place north of the Fire Nation was the Western Air Temple.

The girl's face screwed up in confusion as she tried to figure out how to explain. Aang gentled his tone as much as he could, trying to ignore his building anger and asked before she could speak, "Hana, what kind of beads are those?"

" _Mang_ beads," Hana said cheerfully, clearly happy to have an easy question to answer, and not one knotted up in politics and geographical acquisition. "Some of the people in our town go over to the _mang_ temple, looking for treasure. Father gave these to me for my birthday! They're _much_ prettier than the whalebone necklace Chen got. I don't even know why she likes it so much here. Home is a lot more interesting."

"Yeah. Okay," Aang said. He felt sick to his stomach. He really needed to get out of here. "Is there someone looking for you? Your mom?"

Hana shook her head. Aang groaned aloud, pressing fisted hands to his forehead. Come on! This wasn't fair. He was _sick_. He shouldn't have to be responsible for a crazy little Fire Nation girl.

"There was a girl, though," Hana added after a thoughtful pause. "She said I could come along when she came to see you."

Aang dropped his hands instantly.

"Katara! Where is she? Why didn't she stay with me?"

Hana shrugged.

"I dunno. The healer lady said something to her, and they went in there," Hana said, lifting an arm to point directly across the room to another entrance.

Aang grinned. He suddenly liked Hana a lot more.

"Thanks! Nice meeting you!" he said ebulliently, spinning up an airscooter to speed across the room. He twirled once, giving her a wave goodbye for good measure, which she returned happily.

The door was like _really_ close, though, so as quickly as he began airbending, Aang stopped. He dropped down onto the packed snow floor, heaving out a tired breath. Short as his little spin had been, it had been thoroughly exhausting. The tiredness and pain did nothing to deflate his eagerness, though.

"Katara!" he called out, rushing into the room.

There was a large, raised dais in the center of the room. A snowy sculpture of a man rested in the middle of it, and right next to it, a smaller table had been bent from the snow. The familiar figure of Yugoda, the Northern healer stood in front of it with back to Aang as she worked. Her hands were gloved in water as she healed. Aang's eyes darted around the room, looking for Katara, but there was no one else there.

"Oh no," he whispered, his eyes going back to Yugoda. He ran forward, slipping a little on the slick floor. He grabbed the snowy table to steady himself, startling Yugoda and Katara both. Katara jumped back from him, eyes going wide with surprise.

"You're alright!" Katara said, right before grabbing him to pull him into an ungainly hug.

"Yeah," Aang said dizzily. He closed his eyes, pressing his head against her shoulder. "I'm fine. And you're…"

She winced slightly, pulling back from the hug. Hastily, she crossed her arms in front of her stomach. Yugoda had undone her robes while she worked, leaving the two sides hanging open, and Katara clothed in her pants and a thin undershirt she wore when she went swimming. Aang frowned, reaching out carefully to touch her arm. Katara looked away from her, letting her arm fall to her side.

Just under her ribs, scored along her narrow waist there was a long, ugly weal of red. A burn scar.

He didn't remember that. He remembered Azula's wrath, Zuko drawing his blades to face her, and a hasty decision to save his new ally from certain death. And then he remembered painful electricity snapping and burning across his body. He remembered the harsh staccato of his heart, and a scream that must have been Katara. Aang swallowed unhappily, trying to push away the deep, twisted ache he felt in his chest.

She'd been hurt, and he had done nothing. _Could do_ nothing.

"Katara," Aang breathed out. "What…"

"Aang, it's fine!" she said roughly. "I'm fine."

He shook his head slowly. No. Everything was very clearly _not_ fine.

* * *

Sokka picked his way through the crowded marketplace, sidling past busy merchants in the midst of setting up their booths. Many worked in concert with a bender, shaping and reforming the ice around them into display counters, but just as many set up the familiar tables of hide stretched over driftwood frames bound together with arctic hippo sinew. The Southern Tribe hadn't held markets often – no one typically had anything surplus to trade – but when they had, it had always been with grand fanfare, marking the longest days of the year in joyful festivities.

It had been enough to leave an impression on Sokka, and one of the reasons why shopping was his favorite pick-me-up activity. And whoo-boy, he needed to be picked up today.

Long Feng and Arnook were in _conference_. Talking about his invasion plan, and whether the Northern Tribe was willing to abandon the alliance with the Bei family to join the fight.

Sokka knew that he probably should have been taking solace in the fact that Arnook hadn't kicked them out of the city then and there for screwing up his peace talks, and he probably should have been happy that his plan was finally getting the respect it deserved. But, well, it was _his_ plan, and not only was Long Feng taking all the credit for it, Long Feng had been one of the primary obstacles to it from the beginning! Completely uncool.

It chafed, being exiled from the war plans like he was just a kid, but despite the temptation to stew in his resentment, Sokka had decided to take the higher road. The road of shopping.

He'd brought Zuko along, since _one_ Zuko seemed all too likely to take the low road of "melting the palace around them" and _two_ between the awkward, blushing looks angled at Katara during breakfast and the scar thing, they seriously needed to have a talk.

"So, Zuko," Sokka started, walking over to one of the nearby kiosks. "How long are you going to keep avoiding Katara?"

"I'm not," Zuko replied instantly, hackles up and tone defensive.

"Yeah, uh huh. No really, how long?"

Zuko's expression was stony, shoulders hunched in his parka. His hood was up and pulled as far down as he could. Sokka's eyes flicked up to the sky momentarily, but no, the sun was not nearly high or bright enough to justify that. Zuko just didn't want anyone to see his face.

The other boy glared at him before looking away, shrugging almost imperceptibly. Sokka looked away, too, his eyes going to the wares displayed in front of him. Zuko didn't seem like the sharing kind of guy. It'd probably be easier for him to talk if they did the manly thing and pretended they didn't know each other.

"What about that girl? The gloomy one with the knives?"

"What about her?" Zuko asked irritably.

"She let us go, back in Ba Sing Se. It sort of seemed like you and she had a thing."

"And what does _that_ have to do with anything? I'm not going to betray you to her."

Sokka rolled his eyes to himself.

"That's not what I'm worried about. See also, what I said before? About Katara?"

He idly picked up an ivory carved penguin from the counter in front of him. Zuko muttered under his breath next to him, and when Sokka glanced down, he could see the other boy's boots were steaming. Heh. He tossed the penguin in the air, testing the heft. The merchant had his back turned, chatting with the neighboring salesman, and disappointingly did not kick up a fuss. Sokka put the carving back. Meh, scrimshaw.

When he looked back up at Zuko, he could see her was struggling with himself, a muscle in his jaw twitching.

"I don't – I'm not going to – Sokka, I can't even _look_ at her!"

Sokka nodded knowingly. He reached out, clapping a hand on Zuko's arm.

"Hey, you know how I feel on that. You saved Katara's life, so you're good with me. Everything the elders said was wrong. It wasn't vanity, and we didn't 'buy' you. And whatever there is with you and Katara, it's up to you guys to figure out. _But_ ," Sokka emphasized his words by drawing his machete and poking Zuko in the chest. "If you leave my sister for the creepy knife girl and make Katara cry, I will personally kill you."

Zuko looked mildly alarmed, and then annoyed. He pushed the machete away with one finger.

"I'm not going to do that. Besides," he continued, a little more uncertainly. "I don't think Mai would even want me."

Sokka kept his snort of disbelief to himself. If she was willing to cross Azula to protect him, she was probably willing to date him, treason notwithstanding. He nudged Zuko with a shoulder, urging him on to the next booth.

"And she's not creepy," Zuko said, irritation gaining steam as he walked quickly next to Sokka. "She's my betrothed."

That wasn't actually contradictory.

"Or she was. Before," Zuko added, coming to a sullen halt at the next stall.

Sokka cast a rueful look up at the sky. Yue was out in the day, a rare occurrence, but she was as beautiful as ever. He knew from experience that betrothal didn't always mean much when it came to feelings. But he also knew he wasn't going to get a straight answer from Zuko about whether there had been feelings there with Mai before.

They browsed the stall silently for a long moment. There was more than one table set up, each piled high with scrolls and bound books. Sokka opened a thin volume, noting the typography that only could have come from outside the Water Tribe. His eyes narrowed as he skimmed the first lines of poetry, wondering if the peonies the author wrote about were outside the walls of Ba Sing Se, or on the rim of a Fire Nation volcano.

"Hey, no reading!" called the proprietor, shuffling over to snatch the book away. Sokka let him, glowering at his back as the man hurried off to deal with another booklover reading on the cheap.

"What a jerk," Zuko said to him. Sokka nodded, and after a long pause, Zuko asked, "You'd really be okay with it?"

"Huh?" Sokka gave him a confused look. He was decidedly _not_ okay with the Northern Tribe trading with the Fire Nation, but he was pretty sure that wasn't what Zuko meant.

"Me and Katara," Zuko clarified awkwardly.

"Eh," Sokka said with a light shrug. "You're better than the last guy."

Heroic death or not, he still _really_ did not like Jet.

Zuko lifted his hand, nodding to the merchant for him to come over. Sokka blinked, suddenly noticing the pile of books Zuko had amassed in front of him.

"What are you doing?" he hissed.

"What do you _mean_ what am I doing?" Zuko asked. "I'm shopping."

"With what money? I didn't mean we'd be actually shopping! Just, you know, window shopping!"

The boys shared a look with each other, and then the looming merchant, before stumbling back from the pile of books, hands raised. The merchant narrowed his eyes at them, and they dashed away, skidding on slick walkways and almost tumbling to the ground at least once. They clutched each other, just barely keeping their footing, relieved laughs coming from them both. Sokka grinned, glad to have some kind of proof that Zuko was human after all, and it was while looking at the other boy that they ran smack into a pair of girls, almost bowling them over entirely.

"Sorry, sorry!" Sokka gasped, grabbing the elbows of the girl in front of him to steady them both.

He met her blue eyes, offering his most charming smile. The surprise faded from her face, and she quickly lifted a hand to cover a giggle. Beside them, Zuko was similarly extricating himself, although with far less style, if Sokka did say so himself. But instead of looking angry, the other girl looked star struck. The two girls stepped back from them, huddling close to whisper as they looked at the boys, eyes flashing with excitement.

One of the girl, turned away from Zuko, reaching up around her neck to discreetly unhook her betrothal necklace. She passed it to her friend behind her back before aiming a coy, flirty smile at Zuko.

He looked entirely bewildered.

"You're with the delegation, aren't you?" the girl asked.

Zuko glared at her.

"No," he said tersely.

Sokka hit his forehead with his palm. Zuko tried to elbow past the girl, but Sokka reached out just in time, hauling him back. Zuko shook him off, crossing his arms in front of his chest and lifting his chin stubbornly. The girls didn't at all seem put off. In fact, one of them actually fluffed her hair at him.

"That is," Sokka started, "we're not with _that_ delegation. We're with the other one. Team Avatar – you might have heard of us."

"Oh, that's okay," said the girl eyeing Zuko, as if he had just apologized. "We don't mind."

"But we do," Zuko snapped.

This time, when he tried to shoulder past the girls, Sokka joined him. He twisted around as he walked, giving the girls an appalled look. He gestured widely in distress, asking Zuko, "What was _that_? We were good enough to save the city, but now we're yesterday's news?"

"Apparently." Zuko stopped, one hand clamping down on Sokka's flailing arm. Sokka looked over at him as the other boy dropped his arm, and Zuko jerked his chin, indicating the group of shoppers in front of them. "I guess _they're_ the new heroes."

Standing out in the group were both Bei Xin and Bei Chen, mother and daughter strolling regally amid a crowd of admirers. They had both traded their red robes for blue and their sleek flowing hair had been put up into elaborate Water Tribe style braids. Xin leaned stopped at one stall, leaning in close to a merchant to inspect skeins of colorful sea silk, while Chen hung back. She chatted idly with Hahn, who was escorting her, arm linked with hers.

Sokka's jaw worked in anger at the sight. He'd always known that Hahn didn't care at all for Yue, but he was courting another girl like she had never existed.

"So," he began with false cheerfulness. "How are we going to take them down?"

Zuko got a determined look on his face as he examined each person in the group in turn.

"There are no firebenders in the Bei family. You could feint right, while I move in from the left, blasting them with fire. Then you attack with your machete and –"

Sokka turned his head slowly, mouth falling open. He raised a finger, ready to protest, just as Zuko trailed off. He colored in embarrassment.

"That was a joke. I was joking."

"Sure you were," Sokka replied, still eyeing him. He'd ask how Zuko turned out a sociopath but, well, he actually had a fair idea.

Hahn and Chen split away from the main party while Xin continued to haggle, wandering toward kiosks selling jewelry. Chen pointed to a hair dealybob she liked, pinning it into her hair while and Hahn obligingly picked up a hand mirror, turning it this way and that as she modeled. Sokka bitterly wondered where exactly the Northern Water Tribe had managed to get silvered mirrors. A _little_ above and beyond the means of humble whale hunters, in his opinion.

"Hey, Zuko," Sokka asked, eyes still on the happy couple. "How much is this deal worth to the Bei family? Like, money-wise?"

"A lot."

"How much is a lot?"

Zuko shifted next to him, giving him a long measuring look as he decided on his words.

"Water Tribe goods are worth a lot of money. They're rare, available exclusively to the nobility. Perfumes and make up, mostly," he said, adding after a brief pause. "My mother had a sea silk robe."

Sokka startled from his suspicious and angry speculations. He'd never heard anything about the Fire Lady before. He hadn't even really known there _was_ a Fire Lady, other than in an abstract "baby Fire Princes come from somewhere" sort of way. The past tense there wasn't particularly promising, though. He looked at Zuko curiously, but the other boy's expression was tight and closed – even more so than usual.

"That's not even getting into the military contract. Whale blubber based paint is great against rust. We used it on my ship, although the rations were running pretty low by that point," Zuko continued, visibly tensing while he tried to ignore Sokka's attention. "This isn't about peace for the Bei family. Bei Hu is nothing more than a petty social climber, but he'll be a very successful one if he manages to get this deal."

"And your father is okay with that?" Sokka asked, testing the waters.

Zuko snorted.

"He probably doesn't even know Bei Hu is here. He's _beneath_ the Fire Lord."

A lot of people were, in the Fire Lord's opinion. Including his own son, if what Azula had said back in Ba Sing Se about Ozai burning him could be trusted. Sokka's eyes stayed on the Fire Prince. He sort of thought he should say something, well, reassuring. Maybe even uplifting. The words just weren't coming.

And while the words were busy not coming, somehow the Bei party managed to walk right up to Sokka and Zuko without him noticing. Not until Hahn was busy clapping a hand to his shoulder as if they were actually friends, and Chen was giving a bow to Zuko – a bow that, from the expression on the Prince's face, was not nearly deep enough.

"My Prince, it has been far too long," Chen said, voice clear and strong despite her timid gestures. "I believe the last time I saw you was your birthday, not long before…"

She trailed off artfully, lowering her eyes. Zuko gave a fierce glare, bringing a hand up to gesture to his face before he remembered he had no scar to point to.

"It has been a long time," he said stiffly, wrong footed by his own realization.

"Yes, Your Majesty. It is good to see you are well. I feared the worst. It seemed like a sign, your birthday and then the Agni Kai, so close together."

"It wasn't," Zuko gritted out.

Sokka frowned, leaning in close to whisper, "Your birthday? Eh?"

"I was born on the fourth day after New Year's," Zuko muttered back. Chen watched them blandly, clearly listening while she pretended not to.

"Ohhh," Sokka said, wincing. "That's rough, buddy."

There were unlucky birthdays, and then there were _unlucky_ birthdays. Having one that literally meant "want to die" was definitely in the latter camp.

"Yeah," Hahn cut in, sounding bored. He pulled on Sokka, steering him away from Chen and Zuko. "Why don't we let them catch up? There's a favor I wanted to ask you."

Sokka dug his heels into the snow, boggling at the words.

" _You_ want a favor from _me_?"

"I totally just said that. Anyway," Hahn grasped Sokka by his arms, turning him bodily to stand before him. He looked seriously into Sokka's eyes, flipping his hair aside. "You're friends with the Avatar. Could you talk to him for me when he wakes up?"

Sokka bristled at the wording and the tone. Hahn made it sound like Aang was just sleeping in.

"Okay," he said, drawing out the word.

"It's just," and Hahn leaned in close, casting a look over his shoulder to Chen. He nodded toward her, eyebrows doing an appreciative waggle."I've got a good thing going here. It'd really suck if the Avatar went glowy and messed it up for me the way he did last time."

Sokka didn't actually remember much of what happened next. Somehow, Hahn ended up in the snow, with a stunned look on his stupidly symmetrical face, and Sokka's knuckles ended up throbbing in pain.

Somehow.

* * *

"Appa!" Aang shouted happily. He jumped toward the huge sky-bison, a gust of wind speeding him into Appa's side. Appa lowed appreciatively as Aang clung, pressing his face deep into his friend's fur.

Katara watched with a cautious smile, hand coming up to touch against the reassuring presence of her mother's necklace. The look in Aang's eyes back in the healing hut hadn't been anything she wanted to see – not the shock, and not the hurt. Yugoda had been quick to separate them, sparing Katara the need to explain the situation as she admonished Aang for pushing his still healing injuries. The master healer had been all for simply sending Aang back to bed, maybe after a nip of Earth Kingdom _baijiu_ to make sure he stayed down. Then Aang had turned his big, pleading gray eyes on her, and Yugoda relented, topping him off with another quick healing session before deeming him ready again for the outside world.

The walk over to the stables had been awkwardly quiet, words forming and then going unsaid. Katara had wrapped her arms around his middle, keeping her eyes locked forward as she walked in silence ignoring the prickling feeling of Aang's eyes on her. It just didn't feel like anything she could explain, and it hurt all the more for that.

Katara just wasn't accustomed to not being able to talk to Aang.

For all that, it was heartening to see Aang back to himself, and frankly, to see Appa again herself. The icy stables were familiar without being disquieting in the way that the rest of the Northern City had become for her. Appa was casually munching on the tundra gathered brush the ibexes normally ate, but he snuffled happily again when Aang maneuvered himself around to Appa's face to give him a big nose-hug.

Aang took a few more moments to rebond with Appa, brushing through his fur and checking on what little of the tack had been left in the stall. Katara felt a brief moment of worry, breath caught in her throat as she watched him, before she remembered that the blankets lining Appa's saddle been sent to the laundry.

Aang wouldn't have to see the blood stain.

Lifting his arm up, Aang let Momo clambered onto Appa's back, and some sort of exchange quickly ensued between the animals. Aang lifted his eyebrows her direction, smiled in bemusement, and she shrugged back with a small smile of her own.

His smile faded quickly. Much more quickly than his smiles used to.

"Katara," he started, scratching his neck and looking anywhere but at her. "I think we sort of need to talk."

Her mouth went dry, heart beating loudly in her ears.

With false nonchalance, she replied, "Of course, sure, Aang."

"What happened, Katara?"

"I – how much do you remember?"

"We lost to Azula in Ba Sing Se. And then you got us away. I woke up _here_ ," he said, gesturing with agitation. "With a little Fire Nation girl watching over me, saying that they were robbing Air Nomad graves and making peace with the Water Tribe!"

"What?" Katara asked in shock. Air Nomad graves? That had better not be part of the trade deal!

"Why didn't you stop this?" Aang demanded, meeting her eyes suddenly.

She blinked at him, reminded forcefully of his accusations in the desert toward Toph. She exhaled a long breath, squaring her shoulders to give him an even look. He wilted some, clearly regretting his words.

Katara waited a moment longer, right up until he started to twitch with the repressed need to apologize, before she asked, "Stop it? How could we stop it?"

"I don't know! I thought Chief Arnook was our _friend_. How could he do this to us?"

"I think," Katara said, crossing her arms. She let her temper flare, glad to have a target other than Aang. "A better question is how could he have done this to the Southern Tribe? For _years_. Aang, didn't you ever wonder why all the Fire Nation armor they had here was eighty-five years old? It's the last time they even fought in the war. They had a peace treaty. The Northern Tribe abandoned us; they were left alone when the Fire Nation attacked _us_ , when they killed my _mother_."

She swallowed against her tears, grasping the charm of her necklace tightly in her hand. Aang's expression grew fierce and angry, even as he stepped forward, drawing her into a hug. She wrapped an arm around him, pressing her cheek against his.

"I will fix this, Katara," he whispered.

She nodded, drawing back to wipe at her tears. Her hand fell down to her side, and Aang interlaced his fingers with hers.

"Where's Sokka?" Aang asked. "I'm sure he has a plan!"

"He's shopping," she said, almost mustering a smile at the thought. Aang looked up at her brightly, suppressing a giggle, and she had to marvel at how resilient he was. He always brought hope to any situation. She added, "With Zuko."

Aang's happy expression flickered.

"Oh. Maybe we should go to the palace. Talk with Arnook."

Katara shook her head, pulling him away from the stables before dropping his hand. It didn't quite feel right, holding hands with him while they walked.

"You _don't_ want to go in there. Long Feng's still arguing with him."

" _Long Feng_?" Aang asked, surprised. "What's he doing here?"

"I honestly don't know," Katara said darkly. She kept walking forward, letting her anger out through her long, fast stride and Aang had to jog to keep up. The city was beautiful, but she hardly noticed the newly repaired buildings or the arctic summer flowers growing in window boxes as she stalked up the walkways toward the market.

"Katara, wait!" Aang said breathlessly, grasping at her arm to finally stop her on an ice bridge over one of the canals. "You gotta talk to me. What's Long Feng doing here? What are we going to do?"

Katara looked past him, over the edge of bridge. A gondola was slowly approaching. Two young lovers sat in it, sitting close, the girl's hand stroking only lightly above the water to move them. She glowered at them.

"He's negotiating," Katara said. "He's arguing that the Northern Tribe should join our invasion on the Day of Black Sun instead of forming the peace treaty with the Bei family."

"That's… good. I guess."

"It's _awful_. That was our plan! And that opportunistic _jerk_ is stealing it," Katara said. She laughed bitterly. "Not that he's probably even trying. I bet he's already changed his mind, _again_ , but we wouldn't know because Chief Arnook won't talk to us.

"He won't talk to me," she added softly.

Aang joined her silently. He rested his arms on the guardrail of the bridge, slumping his shoulders as he looked out over the city.

"It's because of Zuko, isn't it?" he asked. Katara turned, giving him a startled look. "Chief Arnook doesn't like that you healed him."

"How did you – ?"

"Katara, I was here. I remember how Yue died. It's not fair to expect Chief Arnook to forgive that," Aang reminded her softly.

"Zuko didn't have anything to do with that!" she defended. Katara rolled her eyes, turning back to watch the canal boat drift beneath the bridge. She flipped her hand back and forth as she added, "Besides, that's not what the elders said. It was all vanity this, and cheap loyalty that. They didn't care about Yue, or the siege. All they cared about was that I 'wasted' the spirit water."

"It shouldn't have happened," Aang said. He leaned over even further, until his head rested on his arms. "It should never have come to that. I should have been able to fight harder against Azula."

"Aang… it's not your fault."

"It _is_ my fault, Katara! I'm the Avatar. It's my responsibility to protect this world, and I'm failing. I didn't listen to the guru," he admitted guiltily. He looked up at her, self-loathing clear on his face. The sight made something twist in Katara's stomach; Aang should _never_ look like that. "I didn't learn how to get into the Avatar State."

Katara shook her head, reaching out a hand to try to comfort him. He turned away. She let her hand fall to her side, watching him in confusion.

"Aang, we'll figure it out."

"I already have," Aang said over his shoulder. "I – Guru Pathik told me what to do. I was just too _selfish_ , and you almost died because of it."

She pressed her lips together.

"Well, tell me what you have to do. I'm sure we can figure out a way to make it work. Maybe it's not as bad as it sounds."

"No, Katara, it is." He turned halfway, meeting her eyes directly. He looked in equal parts determined and sorrowful. "I have to give you up. Or else next time… it might be for real."

Katara felt all her breath leave her at once. _Give her up_ – did that mean what she thought it meant? She looked at Aang in disbelief, incredulous that _this_ would be how he told her he had feelings for her. And what kind of guru would even say a thing like that? The Avatar couldn't care about anyone that way? That was completely ridiculous. It was too much to ask from Aang. He deserved to be happy.

"Aang…"

He shrugged one shoulder, looking away from her.

"Katara, I think it'll be easier if we don't talk about it," he said, his voice soft and sad. "It's like a wound. It heals more quickly if you don't pick at it."

Or if you burn it out, Katara thought. Her hand touched against her side, tracing the line of her scar. She sighed, but she nodded, saying nothing as she resumed walking with Aang toward the marketplace.

The market was full of the familiar smells and sights of the summer market back home at the South Pole, although writ much larger. Katara tried to focus on them through the sudden melancholy she felt. Tents and travois hauling goods lined the walkways. Ivory shone in the weak arctic sun, although not nearly as much as the snow and ice themselves. At another time, it might have been interesting to peruse the items for sale, but she had no stomach at all for shopping at the moment.

Quickly, Katara and Aang found themselves at the central plaza, blinking as they took in the scene before them. Two stalls had been torn apart, wooden frames lying in splinters across the snow. Sokka was twisted up in the blue dyed hide of one, sitting on the ground and leaning against a building as he held a handful of snow to his face. Hahn stood not far from him, blood dripping from a nose he periodically dabbed at while Chen hung off his shoulder, glaring daggers at Sokka. Completely uninjured, Zuko stood off to the side, fists clenched and steam rising visible from his body as Bei Hu, of all people, set a fatherly hand on his shoulder and tried to talk him down.

Katara and Aang both rushed to Sokka's side. He smiled toothily at their approach, raising his hand of snow in salute.

"Oh, _Sokka_ ," she groaned out, slapping her head against her forehead. "Peacebond? Remember?"

"Kinda. Look, all I'm gonna say is _he deserved it_."

Katara let out a huff of annoyance, but let it drop. Hahn probably did deserve it, and there really wasn't much doubt what the provocation had been anyway. Same as it ever was between those two. She stretched out her hand, and Sokka obligingly gave her his snowball. She reformed the snow directly into water, kneeling as she healed Sokka's black eye.

"Did you have to break his nose?" Aang asked with a worried tinge to his voice. Katara looked up from working on Sokka, craning her neck to get a better look at Hahn. And yeah, it looked like he _did_ have a broken nose. She smiled grimly at the sight.

"Now, now. Credit where credit is due. _Zuko_ broke Hahn's nose."

"Great," Aang said. "You and your new best friend, going shopping and getting into fights. I just hope they don't kick us out of the city."

Aang followed that up with a weird little _hrmph_ sound that was enough to make Katara raise her eyebrows. So much for letting her go. She'd known boys were stupid, but she really hoped this wasn't going to be a problem.

"Well, if they do, _good riddance_ ," Sokka snapped back.

"Now, I don't think there's any reason to talk that way," said Bei Hu, shadow lengthening over Sokka as he stepped close to the group. Katara stood, moving defensively in front of her brother. Aang watched him warily. Zuko trailed the man tensely. It was oddly comforting to see they had him surrounded; Bei Hu, however, was indifferent to the threat. He smiled genially at them. "I don't see any reason that Arnook or the elders need to hear about this. It was simply boys blowing off steam."

"Yeah, sure," Zuko said, wisps of smoke coming from his hands as he flexed them. " _Steam_."

"And only that," Bei Hu agreed. He dipped his head to Aang, and then bowed deeply to Zuko. "Keep in mind what I said, My Prince. I am a very reasonable man. I'm sure that some kind of accommodation for your situation could be made – politically speaking, that is."

"Not. Interested."

Bei Hu's expression remained the same, but his eyes went cold as he stared into Zuko's fierce glower.

"Prince Zuko. Avatar," he said, acknowledging them both again with nods, before turning and sweeping away toward his wife and daughter.

"What was that about?" Aang asked.

"Nothing I want a part of," Zuko replied.

He stared at Bei Hu, watching the man hug his family, and an expression passed across Zuko's face that gave lie to his words. Katara moved closer to Zuko, hand on his shoulder urging him away. He turned, meeting her eyes with an intensity that stopped her heart in her chest, before it began pounding loudly in her ears. She flushed, biting her lip as she looked away.

"Come _on_ , Katara," Aang urged, giving her an unhappy look.

She swallowed, grimacing as she pushed herself to follow the group forward. Oh yeah, boys were stupid. And this was _absolutely_ going to be a problem.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The birthday I gave Zuko can be written "yi yue si hao"/yi si" (一月四号), or "first month fourth day"/"one four". But since "one" can also be read as "yao" that can equally be said as "yao si" (要穸), meaning "want death", which is one of the unluckiest birthdays it's possible to have. For my own amusement, I gave Azula August 8th, which is one of the luckiest days of the year. Also pretty close to when canon puts the Day of Black Sun, but neither of these factoids will probably come up at all.


	3. The Compass Points North

The far city wall was almost distant enough from the palace for Zuko's tastes, but not quite. He didn't think anything less than leaving the city entirely would cleanse the sour taste of its judgment from his mouth.

He perched on the edge of the wall, feet dangling over a fathomless drop down to the water below. A portal in the wall had been opened, and a great ice dock extended by the waterbenders. Ships rested on the water at anchorage, taking on crews and supplies without the hassle of traveling through the city's locks. If Zuko squinted, he could make out the tiny dots of blue clothed Water Tribe fisherman carrying frozen blocks of fresh water and furled hide sails onto their ships. He closed his right eye, focusing his left on the activity below; it was still clear as day.

Zuko snorted to himself. Not having half his face scarred and damaged had _so_ many advantages. How wonderful.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he felt ashamed once more. He'd been given this amazing gift, relieved of his burden to seek the Avatar and restore his honor, and all he felt was angry. When it mattered most, he'd been useless, crippled. It didn't make any _sense_! His firebending had failed him in Ba Sing Se, but now he felt sick with it. He closed his eyes, breathing in a deep breath that came in fresh and cool. It settled him for a brief moment, calming him as he thought of the deep ocean below, but swiftly enough his mind turned to the Water Tribe, to Katara, to his own _vanity_.

He exhaled smoke and sulfur, feeling the fire twist in his stomach. With a wrench, he opened his eyes, glaring sharply over at the other ship in the bay.

The Fire Nation ship proudly waved its seal-bear and star flag as it pumped out a thin but steady stream of black exhaust. It wasn't quite enough to taint the air, and certainly not enough to make the sky snow down muddy ash snow, but Zuko followed the dark twist of smoke through the air.

"Do you smell that?" he asked, voice low and rough.

"Smell _what_?" Toph asked. She was clinging to his arm. She'd earlier declared that the only real benefit of his angst was that it left him cozy-warm and superior to swaddling herself in furs. She hadn't left his side since lunch, demanding that he piggyback her wherever he went. Zuko wasn't exactly sure why he hadn't said no. "You?"

"What? I do _not_ smell!"

"Sure you do." She grinned and leaned in, sniffing her way up his arm. "You smell like a girl."

Zuko's mouth thinned into an embarrassed line.

"I thought those bath salts were complementary!"

There was nothing wrong with being clean. The ability to have regular baths was probably the best thing living in Ba Sing Se had brought, a welcome relief from wandering the Earth Kingdom covered in dirt and sweat. The local bath house certainly hadn't been as nice as a royal hair combing, but it was something. He'd almost gotten used to being clean again before everything went to hell.

"Eh, to each his own, Sparky. I figured if they were complementary, why waste them on a _bath_?" She reached into one of the deep pockets of her blue-green parka, pulling out a small bag. She waved it in front of his face, and a soft, seaside smell wafted out. "If we get into trouble, I can bend these little fellas. Better than being completely useless."

Right. Salt was a rock. Zuko smiled down at her, even though he knew she couldn't see; well, actually, _because_ he knew she couldn't see it. She really was very clever.

"You hate it here, don't you?"

"Gee, what gave me away?"

"I hate it too," Zuko said. He thought back to the girls in the marketplace, the flirtatious looks on their faces. "Everyone keeps _looking_ at me here!"

"Wow, sounds bad," Toph said dryly.

Zuko ignored her tone, gesturing in agitation as he spoke, "They don't recognize me. They have no idea what I've been through – or what I've done. They just think I'm _pretty_."

There was a long moment of silence while Toph digested this.

"So, and correct me if I'm wrong here," she said unsympathetically, "you're complaining that girls think you're good looking?"

"Yes!" Zuko snapped. "I thought you'd understand. How would you feel if Katara healed your blindness?"

" _What_? That's not even close to the same!"

"It is," Zuko argued. "Wouldn't it change how people treat you? How you see yourself?"

"Right. How _I_ see myself," Toph said flatly. "Ha."

"You don't get it."

"You're right, I don't. Probably because it's stupid." Toph jabbed a finger into Zuko's side; it really hurt. "You wanted Katara to heal you. You were _happy_ about it, and now you feel all bad about it because people said some mean things. I never thought the dreaded Fire Prince would be such a whiner. So you're _pretty_. Deal with it."

Zuko shifted angrily, ready to argue further – he wasn't a whiner – when her words finally hit fully. He frowned, turning the idea over in his head cautiously.

"What do you mean happy?" he asked.

"Happy. Like _happy_! You do have that in the Fire Nation right?"

Zuko swallowed, staring out over the ocean broodingly. That had to be it, didn't it? He had everything he wanted, all of his burdens lifted in a way he'd never once expected or hoped for. He'd actually been… happy.

"That's why I couldn't firebend," he said softly.

It was Aang had to save him, and why Katara nearly died.

Why didn't you tell me, Uncle? He wondered, even while he knew that uncle Iroh _had_ , after a fashion. He'd gone out of his way to give Zuko swords before the battle, fearing the worst.

Zuko clenched his jaw. That figured. His happiness was the worst case scenario.

Rage and self-loathing bubbled up in his chest, racing down his arms and into his finger tips. He pressed them down against the ice wall, fingers curled into claws. He melted five holes into the ice before letting the heat out in a pulse from his palm, vaporizing the water entirely.

It wasn't enough to quell the roiling fire within him. Not even close.

"I wish they'd make their stupid decision already so we could just go," he said suddenly. "I don't even care what it is anymore!"

A man cleared his throat next to them, and Zuko looked up, surprised that Long Feng could have moved so quietly that he wouldn't have noticed. He was off his game. Toph tensed at the sound, equally upset that she hadn't detected it.

"I do not think that would be entirely advisable," Long Feng said. "The Northern Tribe could become valuable allies to us."

"You meant to _you_ ," Toph muttered under her breath.

The corner of Long Feng's mouth twitched, but he gave no other acknowledgement to her words. Zuko glared up at him.

"How close are they to becoming our allies? Because their 'prince'," he spat the word, "seemed pretty cozy with Bei Chen in the marketplace this morning."

"It needs more time, I admit. And perhaps a little more persuasion. But I am confident they will see things my way," Long Feng said, a dark glimmer in his eyes.

"And how are you gonna manage _that_?" Toph demanded. She pointed out over the ocean. "You left all your brainwashing equipment thattaway."

Long Feng narrowed his eyes at her, before looking more genially at Zuko. It wasn't just Arnook Long Feng was trying to persuade, Zuko thought with a sneer. Long Feng stepped forward, clapping an avuncular hand on Zuko's shoulder. He wished everyone would _stop doing that_.

He looked down at Long Feng's hand, staring down at it until the man removed it. Not even a flicker of remorse crossed Long Feng's face.

"I was curious if you knew where our young Avatar is?" Long Feng asked.

"No," Zuko said. "Probably with Katara."

"Oh," Long Feng said. He raised an eyebrow, a cunning smile on his lips. "Certainly not. I just spoke with her."

Zuko blinked at him, processing that comment. It didn't mean anything. It was stupid to think it meant anything. But just a tiny part of him really wanted to find significance in the fact that Katara was _not_ with Aang.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I think I will attend to my duties. I just wished to give you an update and tell you," Long Feng said, looking up from his bow to meet Zuko's eyes. "That you can count on me."

" _What duties_?" Toph asked, turning half way to yell it at Long Feng's back. Zuko reacted quickly, grabbing the back of her parka before she slipped off the edge of the wall. Toph grumbled and struggled to a moment before settling back against him, obviously happy to pretend that hadn't happened. She wrapped her arms around one of his, hugging it tight as she pillowed her head on his shoulder. Zuko eyed the top of her head warily, before frowning, casting his own angry look at Long Feng's back.

"What does he even want from me?" he asked in a frustrated growl. Everyone kept doing that, trying to curry favor with him, making it sound like their machinations were for _his_ benefit while obviously hoping for some future favor in return. A favor. From _him_. It was so bizarre as to be laughable. What kind of favor could a formerly banished, now _traitor_ prince even give?

And they kept acting as if they liked him. It was infuriating to look up into the calculating faces of Long Feng and Bei Hu while they pretended they cared.

It made him miss Uncle Iroh.

"Probably he wants you to put him back in charge of Ba Sing Se once you're Fire Lord," Toph said blithely. "I overheard him talking to you yesterday at dinner. Wasn't he asking something about your views on hereditary monarchy, or something?"

Actually, Zuko had mostly been tuning him out, only catching snatches in between staring at Katara and getting caught staring at Katara. If that's what he was asking, though, Zuko was baffled as to why Long Feng thought Zuko would even be on his side. Deposing his father was one thing; overthrowing the monarchy altogether was something else. Something stupid.

"He's going to be waiting a long time, if that's what he wants."

"You don't think we're going to win, do you?" Toph asked quietly.

"No!" Zuko lied. "That's not it! I just… I used to think that's what I wanted to be. I wanted my throne back. I wanted to be Fire Lord, and now I'm not so sure."

"Who then? Azula? It's gotta be you, Zuko."

But did it have to be _now_? All the years that Zuko had yearned to regain his honor and his throne, he hadn't been thinking of seizing power. He wanted his father's approval and his place at his right hand. He wanted a future. The idea of laying out his father, dead at his feet, and plucking the Fire Crown from his topknot made Zuko feel shaky and afraid. That wasn't how it was supposed to be.

"No, there's still Uncle," Zuko said with a strength he didn't feel. "He was supposed to be Fire Lord, not Father. We're just restoring his birthright."

They just had to rescue him first.

Zuko kicked his heels sullenly against the ice wall, eyes going again to the small, puttering Fire Nation ship. The problems kept piling up, to the point where they seemed insurmountable. He hated putting his trust in a man like Long Feng, but he had to.

A bird circled in the air, cawing as it descended toward the ship. Zuko's eyes widened as he watched a man on deck lift up his arm, allowing the messenger-hawk to land. He retrieved the scroll from the hawk's back, inserting a new one in turn, before lifting his head uncannily to look in Zuko's direction. Zuko's breath caught in his throat, and he stared back in horror.

They needed this alliance and the faster the better. No matter what Arnook said, or Bei Hu promised, it wouldn't be long before Azula found out they were here.

* * *

Aang hated to admit it, but Water Tribe clothes kinda itched. Not the robes, to be fair. Those were really nice – the sea silk was a nice alternative to the hemp of his Air Nomad clothes. The robes fell lightly over his shoulders, insulating just enough from the chill of Northern summer without restricting his movement. It was the leggings that were the problem.

More specifically, his footwear. It was made of leather. Aang wasn't precisely sure what kind of leather. He wasn't well versed on tanning the hides of dead animals, and he also wasn't particularly interested in _ever_ changing that. The bound strips of leather were kept in place by stiffer frontpieces guarding his shins and the tops of his feet. When he moved, they slipped just a little, and the end result was chafing.

It was seriously messing with his bending.

Aang forced his eyes shut, dropping his hands to his sides as he released a gusting breath of air. He let go of the water he'd been just beginning to bend, letting it slosh back into the big central pool in the middle of the square in front of the palace. The benders working around him ignored him, focused on their preparations for the evening feast, and he ignored them in turn, trying to calm himself enough to bend.

He needed to practice. Ba Sing Se had made it horrifyingly clear that he wasn't anywhere close to ready to battle the Fire Lord. He had barely waterbent or earthbent at all during that battle, and he knew it was because he didn't really trust in his abilities. He still thought like an airbender, he still _felt_ like an airbender. It was time to put all of that aside.

It was thoughts of the little girl, Hana, that helped him with that, oddly enough. He deliberately ran that word through his head – _mang_ – said in her innocent, little girl voice. Taking a deep breath, he held his anger in his stomach. He let it churn and build, feeling every ounce of helpless rage toward that word, toward the Fire Nation, toward a world that let his people die, and toward himself for running away.

And then he exhaled, letting it go.

Aang opened his eyes. The snow seemed brighter, the ice more crystalline and clear. He tilted his head back, enjoying the endlessly wide expanse of blue above.

He took that connection down with him, feeling the sky above and the water that coursed deep beneath the ice of the city, holding them together in his mind until he felt no separation at all. He held his hands out before him, settling into the most basic of stances as he streamed the water in the pool. It wasn't about fancy moves; it was about learning the instincts of a waterbender.

Aang was moving into forming a waterwhip when he saw Long Feng walking toward him, weaving in amidst the sculpting benders with hardly an interested glance toward their work. Aang congratulated him on resisting the urge to snap the whip out at Long Feng, instead coiling the water into a spiral before letting it flow down into the pool. He let his arms follow through on the motions, completing the entire form, before settling back into a neutral stance and looking up at Long Feng.

"Well, it's good to know our future is in such skillful hands," Long Feng said, tucking his hands into the cuffs of his parka as he stopped a few paces away.

Aang narrowed his eyes at Long Feng, looking at him askance. That didn't sound… unsarcastic. On the other hand, Aang wasn't really the best judge, and hadn't he just been practicing letting go of his anger? Right then, time to try harder.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, forcing his voice to stay calm.

"I had a query for you. In the course of negotiations with the Chief and elders, union between treaty members has been mentioned more than once. It appears that Miss Bei Chen has caught the eye of Prince Hahn – and regardless of my own not inconsiderable skills at persuasion, that relationship appears to be the lynchpin of the armistice."

Aang nodded glumly as he followed along.

"So, Chen is going to marry Hahn no matter what, and the Northern Tribe figures they might as well get peace out of it?"

"In essence. However, I have been attempting to craft a counterproposal. Despite our differences," Aang stared at him. That was certainly one way of looking at their near deadly encounter under Lake Laogai. "I respect your station as the Avatar. I believe your words will have weight with the elders, and I hope that you will support my proposal."

"Uh. Okay. What were you planning?"

"A marriage contract of our own," Long Feng said smugly.

"But I'm too young to get married!" Aang protested. Long Feng raised his eyebrows, giving him a long, silent look. "Oh."

"I did not consider you, I'm afraid. You are, as you note, rather too young. In addition, despite your clear strengths as Avatar, you do not bring much to the table in terms of political accords. At the moment. Prince Zuko, on the other hand…"

"Yeah, yeah," Aang said irritably. "I get it. You don't need to spell it out."

Long Feng steepled his fingers.

"If I am to have your support in front of the elders, I'm afraid that I do. Should we win this war, Prince Zuko will take the throne as Fire Lord. The benefits of the marriage contract that the Bei family offers pale in comparison to the advantages the Water Tribe could reap by placing Katara on the throne. Opposing Prince Zuko's ascent, however, would hardly be a wise move for the Northern Tribe, and Bei's alliance would do nothing to protect them from his disfavor."

Gah. He made it all sound so _cold_. Aang stared at him, trying to digest the idea without actually thinking about it in _Zuko_ and _Katara_ terms.

"Okay, that sounds good in theory, but there are a bunch of problems with it." Not the least being that Aang hated every tiny bit of the idea. "Firstly, Katara's not old enough to get married either."

Long Feng waved a hand dismissively.

"It is a contract alone, not a wedding ceremony. They can get married later."

"Yeah, well, but what about the Fire Nation? You think they're just going to be okay with this? Their Prince marrying a commoner?"

"Katara is hardly a commoner. She is the daughter of the Southern Chief. Why, that practically makes her a princess."

Aang scrunched up his face.

"No, it doesn't. Her dad's elected, and his term is almost up!"

"Regardless, she is a waterbending master and a companion of the Avatar himself. Her status will not be an issue."

Oh, sure. Play _that_ card against him. Unfair.

Aang flailed for a moment, trying to come up with another argument. He really, really wanted to throw in something about Katara not wanting to marry Zuko, but he had absolutely no idea. Even more, it wasn't his place. He was trying to move on. He'd _told_ her he was giving her up. It wasn't right for him to try to speak up about whatever relationship she had just because he was massively jealous. He sucked at doing what the guru said, but he at least knew that.

He kicked his toe into the snow, brow furrowed as he stared down at it.

"You're assuming we're going to win," he said softly. "Do you really think that?"

"Presuming we will fail is not a good negotiating position. And I would hope," Long Feng said sternly. "That you, of all people, would believe in our success. We are most certainly doomed if even the Avatar thinks we cannot win."

Aang stiffened his back, jaw clenching as he looked up at Long Feng. Wow, he really didn't remember _him_ being so gung-ho for victory back in Ba Sing Se – when it might have made a difference! He bit his tongue, stopping himself from saying anything, forcing himself to breathe evenly through his nose. He was going to master this anger thing!

"We will win," he ground out. "And that doesn't answer the question."

"Avatar Aang, you are the only chance the world has. The Day of Black Sun is the best opportunity we may see in a lifetime to invade the Fire Nation and defeat Fire Lord Ozai. It does not matter what I believe, because this is what _must be done_ ," Long Feng said fiercely. Aang was surprised by his intensity, and watched as Long Feng carefully schooled his features into a less passionate expression. He raised an eyebrow, adding almost idly, "However, I feel it would be a great benefit to my negotiations if I had a _fully realized_ Avatar, instead of mere promises and plans."

"Hey, I was in the middle of practicing before you interrupted me!"

Long Feng sighed, pressing two fingers to the bridge of your nose.

"You were practicing with water. How daring. Perhaps you might try, instead, to seek out your firebending master. I believe you can find him on the city wall."

"What, now? I thought you wanted me to talk to the elders for you! Make up your mind!" Aang exclaimed huffily.

"I want you to _prepare_ to talk to the elders tomorrow. It would also, likely, be more effective if you broached the topic of a betrothal between Prince Zuko and Katara with them, rather than me. I suspect they would not appreciate my input," Long Feng said dryly. He turned, already walking away as he said over his shoulder, "Now, if you will excuse me."

Aang glared at his back, gulping down his anger.

"He is not my firebending master," he grumbled. "And I am _not_ going to tell them to get married."

* * *

This evening's dinner was a far less ceremonial affair than the night before, but no less extravagant for that. Red lanterns hung between the totem pillars that dominated the central square before the palace. The delicate ice sculpture of the night before were gone, replaced by simple candles and lanterns floating on lilypads of ice in interconnected waterbent pools. Rather than having a high table, there were only small tables to accommodate the elders and the visiting parties alone; none of the city residents would partake of this meal.

"Are we moving up in the world?" Sokka asked as they were seated at one of the tables. "Or down?"

Katara glanced around. It was hard to tell, actually. The little tables partitioned groups based on internal politics and allegiances she had no experience with. They were sitting apart from the elders and Chief Arnook, but so too was the Bei family. Hahn and Chen sat at a table with Hahn's father and elders Katara supposed were his allies, while Xin and Hana busily sweet talked another group at a different table. In fact, the only people sharing Arnook's table were Bei Hu himself and Long Feng.

Her eyes narrowed at him as he flicked dust from his robes, settling on the furs at Arnook's side.

"Seems like _someone_ is moving up in the world," she grumbled.

"You're right, Katara," Aang said passionately, turning to glower as well. "Long Feng is a jerk."

There was no evening entertainment this time, but that suited the group just fine. Katara hoped vaguely there wouldn't be speeches either – particularly since the ones last night turned out ever so well for them – but she wasn't really counting on it. The food was brought out swiftly, served on ice platters by Bei family attendants. It all looked… kinda foreign.

"Ice plates? _Seriously_?" Toph complained, hand held over the table as they served. "Haven't they ever heard of porcelain?"

"I've got you, Toph," Sokka said. He positioned several of the dishes near the younger girl's plate, and used his chopsticks to give her a portion of each, before guiding her hand to where her plate actually was. His reflexes had really gotten good, because he managed to dodge the immediate stabbing motion Toph made in response to his help.

Katara picked up her chopsticks, poking at a pile of greenish mush. She raised an eyebrow Zuko's way.

"Seaweed salad," he explained. He took up the serving chopsticks in the center of the table, carefully serving her a small portion. "It's hot."

"How can it be hot if it's on ice?" Sokka asked. Not waiting for the serving chopsticks, he snagged the dish, pulling it close and eating directly from it. Katara shaded her eyes with her hand in embarrassment at the sight.

Zuko watched idly, serving himself before picking through the small ice jars placed between red candles at the center of the table for one filled with a transparent, yellowish oil. He poured a healthy amount onto the salad, and then rested his chin on his hand as he looked at Sokka.

Who was _not_ fanning his mouth in distress the way Katara feared. Sokka's eyes had gone wide with distress, and he made a gagging sound as he searched for anything to wash away the flavor.

"My mouth tastes like numb," he said. Maybe. It was hard to tell, since his tongue was lolling out of his mouth while he tried to rub ice against it.

"That's the _ma_ oil," Zuko said, a glimmer of wicked amusement in his eyes. He plucked a small peppercorn from another dish, holding it up for them all to see. "It's made from the _hua jiao_ the Bei family gave to the Tribe. It's not really spicy, just numbing. Personally, I like it."

"You would," Sokka said without any, well, heat. Zuko smirked in return.

Katara covered her mouth, giggling.

"So how do we know what's safe to eat?"

Zuko gave the table a cursory look before shrugging.

"It's all safe. Just don't add any more spicy stuff on it than is already there. And don't eat half of the platter at once."

" _I_ could have told you that," Aang muttered. Katara straightened, giving him a look, and he immediately looked abashed. "Uh, Toph, why don't I help you there?"

"I'll help your _face_ , Twinkletoes," she snapped back immediately. But she did let him help pour soy sauce into the small bowl next to her plate, instead of onto the table as she had been. She did, somehow, manage to pick up a piece of raw fish without help – operating by smell, Katara supposed. As Toph chewed, she asked, "So, Sparky, why is the food all cold? That doesn't seem very Fire Nation-y."

"Yeah," Aang tossed in, brow furrowing in confusion. "I don't remember the Fire Nation being big on raw food. It's always too hot there, so it goes bad."

"Diplomacy," Zuko said after a long moment. "It's a show of friendship, and a show of force."

"Okay, I get friendship," Sokka said. He gestured to the food. "This is all like stuff we have here, but different. Showing off how to use their gifts. But how is it force?"

Zuko snorted sarcastically.

"Do _you_ have machines that make ice? We do. Haven't you noticed? None of these fish are native to the North. These are all tropical fish. Bei Hu brought them _with_ him, refrigerating them for weeks, and they're still good. For all his conciliatory gestures," Zuko pronounced, throwing a look up at the high table, "Bei Hu is still trying to prove the Fire Nation is superior."

"And if he does," Katara added quietly, "Then there's no reason to help us. They know they'll lose."

The group nodded and looked down at their plates, eating in a sullen silence for several long minutes. It was _so_ frustrating, Katara thought. They had fought their way across the entire world, and now her own people wouldn't help because they were afraid of getting their hands dirty. Worse than that, it was because they didn't believe in them, and figured it was better to just cut their losses.

"There has to be something else! Something more we can offer," she said suddenly.

Across the table, Aang slumped low in his seat.

"Well," Sokka started, "I tried to offer my fist to Hahn's face. He didn't accept."

"Weird," Zuko said, before both boys grinned at each other, the light of vicious satisfaction in their eyes.

Katara crossed her arms, giving them each an unimpressed look. Sokka responded by puffing up even more, but Zuko had the grace to look chastened.

"Or," she started in an arch tone, gesturing with one hand, "we could try something that _doesn't_ almost get us kicked out. Making friends with people, maybe?"

"Heh, Zuko's already got a head start on that," Sokka said, elbowing Zuko in the side. "Don't you, buddy?"

Aang looked up, giving Sokka a startled look which quickly turned sour. He scrunched his face, propping his chin on his hand and turning aside to toy with his chopsticks, rolling one across the table with airbending. Katara frowned at him, wanting to reach out and make him stop, or at least make him talk about what was bothering him, but she restrained herself. If he was going to be petulant just because Zuko was their friend now, then fine. Whatever. He could just do that.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zuko said quickly.

Sokka just laughed. He pointed a thumb at Zuko.

"Our prince was quite the charmer out at the market today. We ran into a couple of girls, and I think they were very interested in making friends. One girl was so friendly she took off her betrothal necklace!"

"Betrothal necklace?" Zuko asked. His eyes went wide, meeting hers before dipping down, just long enough for Katara to know he was looking at her mother's necklace. She covered it with her hand, face flushing hot and red in embarrassment.

"That's a Northern custom. We don't do that in the South," she explained, looking away from him.

Aang smacked his head against his arm when it rested on the table.

"Yep. You heard it, Zuko. Katara is _not_ engaged to anyone."

Katara jumped up, hands clenched at her side, leaning forward as she snapped, "What is your problem, Aang?"

He let out an angry breath, glowering up at her, mouth pressed into a petulant line. He jabbed a finger at Zuko.

"My problem is that I remember who you're talking to! After everything he's done, I can't believe you're just forgiving him so easily! Zuko tied you up, tried to capture me, and he chased us all over the world. And now suddenly you're all best friends with him! I feel like I'm going crazy!"

"Well, you've certainly been acting like it," she snapped back.

"Oh, right," he said, rolling his eyes. "It's all me. If I'd asked you last _week_ what you thought of Zuko, what would you have told me? Would you have said he's your friend?"

"Aang, that's not fair! You know that! Ba Sing Se changed everything."

"Not everything," Zuko interjected. He stood, hurt expression very nearly covered by his scowl. "I still know when I'm not wanted."

"Zuko, wait!" Katara said. She grabbed him by the arm, and he stilled in her grasp, meeting her eyes. She swallowed, breath caught in her throat. "Stay."

He looked at her searchingly for a long moment, jaw tense, before giving a jerky nod. She gave him a sliver of a smile, and slid her hand down his arm, resting it gently on his hand. He turned his fingers to interlace with hers, and allowed her to draw him back down onto the furs to sit.

"Fine! If he's not going, then I am," Aang announced. He tucked his arms against his body, hugging himself against the cold as he stalked off to another table. Xin and Hana's from the looks of things, but Katara did her best to look away, straightening her back and sniffing airily as she ignored his departure.

"Oh, Spirits," Zuko groaned. He disentangled his hand from Katara's, bringing it up to slap against his forehead; she shifted away from him, disappointed. "What did I just do? How the heck am I going to teach firebending to the Avatar when he hates me?"

"You didn't do anything," Katara told him. "Aang's just being a … I don't know."

"He's being a jerk," Toph said. She had continued eating throughout the entire exchange, and now she idly spat a _hua jiao_ out onto her plate. She gave a shrug. "He'll get over it."

"I hope so," Zuko said glumly.

"He will. Getting shot with lightning just messed him up a little, I guess," Sokka said. He craned his head, looking toward Aang; Katara resisted the urge to do the same. "It's weird, though. I mean, he was the one back in the Earth Kingdom who pushed us to help you and General Iroh out. I thought he'd be cooler about this."

"So did I," Katara said. Except that wasn't true. She hadn't considered Aang's feelings at all.

She picked up her chopsticks again, hunching her shoulders as she poked guiltily at a small bowl in front of her. Everyone had one, but unlike all the other dishes, it was iced over completely, forming a seal over whatever was inside. Frowning, she pulled it closer, and then picked it up to turn end over end in her hand.

"What do you supposed this is?"

Zuko leaned over, and then leaned further away from her quickly. He made a face.

"Durian," he spat out.

"Really?" Toph asked, perking up. She felt around the table until she hit upon her own sealed bowl. "Ah, they covered it entirely. Smart."

She enthusiastically broke the ice seal with her chopsticks, thrusting them straight down, and the result was immediately obvious. A horrible stench wafted out of her bowl. Toph snatched up the foul smelling fruit from the bowl, sighing blissfully as she ate it.

"I love this stuff."

Katara pinched her nose shut, glaring at Toph.

"You would," she said pointedly.

"Yack!" Sokka said as he broke the seal on his own bowl. He lifted it up to his nose, taking a deep whiff and then gagging. "I can't believe you're eating this stuff!"

"'s good," Toph explained, chewing with an open mouth.

Zuko snickered.

"What, you guys have seriously never heard of this? You never wondered what all those 'no durian on the train' posters were about in Ba Sing Se?" he asked.

Katara glanced over at him, feeling a little surprised. She'd known he had lived in Ba Sing Se – that's how the whole fiasco got started, when she saw him. But somehow… she hadn't really thought of him _living_ there. Chasing them, living undercover, sure. It was just so hard to think of him as a normal person. Which wasn't fair, she knew. He existed outside of their fights and confrontations with him. She knew that better than anyone, from what he'd told her about his family, but it was easy to forget. It was easy to think of the Zuko on the Fire Nation ship as an entirely different person as the Zuko in the crystal caves.

"So, how did you end up in Ba Sing Se, anyway?" Sokka asked. Despite his initial revulsion, he was happily eating his portion of durian. Katara prodded the ice cap on hers again skeptically, before setting her chopsticks down and crossing her arms. She didn't care how good it apparently tasted; the smell wasn't worth it.

"We weren't following you, if that's what you mean," Zuko snapped, he leaned forward and gestured with reflexive hostility. The air shimmered in the path of his hand, but Sokka just shrugged mildly at him. Zuko settled back uncertainly, before he continued, "We're were just… fugitives. Refugees. Ba Sing Se is where refugees go. Uncle wanted us to start over and to make a new life."

"And you did," Katara said quietly. "Before I messed it up."

Zuko tilted his head, hair falling to one side. Where once that would have made his scar visible, now it was a pointed reminder of her deeds in that crystal cave.

"You didn't mess anything up," he assured her. She gave him a small smile, which he returned, golden eyes softening.

"Well," Sokka said. He stretched and rose, patting his stomach as he did. "Food was great, floor entertainment so-so, but now I think it's time for me to get to the real meat of the evening – negotiating!"

Katara raised an eyebrow at him.

"And here I thought your favorite kind of meat was meat."

Sokka waved a hand at her.

"Pshaw. I live for the diplomatic process. Toph, come on, let's make some in-roads!"

"Aw, but I wanted to listen to Zuko and Katara drool all over each other more," she replied sarcastically. She took Sokka's hand, and then linked her arm through his, trusting him to guide her over the ice. Zuko winced at the words, edging away from Katara a bit; she covered her face with her hands.

When she looked up, she noticed that most of the other guests had Sokka's exact idea. The elders walked from table to table, talking with each other and offering toasts. Chen had left Hahn's side to talk with Keelut, while little Hana was hanging off of Aang's hand, begging for him to play with her. Xin raised her glass, clinking it against Arnook's, before they each bowed to each other and parted ways. Sokka tried to move to intercept Arnook, but the Chief swept past him, intent on the table where Katara and Zuko still sat.

They rose warily as he approached. Arnook smiled, inclining his head to each of them. Katara crossed her arms, refusing to bow. At her side, Zuko shifted in annoyance.

"I hope that this evening ends more amicably than last night," Arnook said lightly. He gave Zuko a look. "The food was more to your liking, I assume."

Zuko nodded stiffly. He looked over toward where Long Feng was talking with Bei Hu, and then nodded toward Katara.

"Company was better, too."

"Indeed." His eyes shifted between the two of them, and Katara settled back on one foot, feeling defensive. Why did everyone always have to go there, with her and Zuko? "That's actually what I wanted to discuss with you.

"Now, as you know, Hahn was chosen as my successor and Princess Yue's husband. But you wouldn't have known that deal came as a compromise between my family and another prominent family. It was easier to unite our two houses than to face civil war. With my Yue… gone, however, it has left Hahn as the successor without anyone to speak for my house. Bei Hu is expected to announce the engagement of Hahn and Bei Chen tonight, leaving no possibility for an heir of my family to take her rightful place."

Arnook turned a deliberate look on Katara, and she blinked up at him in confusion. He couldn't seriously be suggesting what she thought he was suggesting.

"I don't …"

"Your negotiator, Long Feng, has come up with an interesting proposal. Katara, _you_ could become a member of my house."

"I am not going to marry Hahn!" she replied immediately, and far louder than she intended. Scattered laughter erupted from somewhere in the party, and she just _knew_ it came from Bei Chen. She flushed with embarrassment, but stood her ground, glaring up at Arnook.

He gave her a strange look.

"I would never suggest such a thing. The proposal was regarding you and Prince Zuko."

Katara sputtered, staring at him in shock. Next to her, Zuko swore aloud.

"I can't believe this!" he said explosively, turning on his heel and stalking away. He pushed his way past the elder Keelut, and broke apart Sokka and Toph where they talked with Long Feng, walking out of the square entirely.

Katara tore her eyes away from him, looking back at Arnook. He raised his eyebrow at her, asking for an explanation of Zuko's behavior – and some part of her was still processing what this insane marriage contract was actually about, while the rest of her was just wondering what to do. Arnook seemed ready to speak again, in that fatherly and reasonable tone he so often favored, and that was enough to make the decision for her.

She ran after Zuko.

Katara felt all the eyes turn toward her as she dashed through the party, again bumping Keelut out of the way. The weight of the Beis' eyes was particularly heavy. She heard Chen's laughter again, and briefly caught Bei Hu's eye as she ran past. He watched her with particular interest and malice, turning to the side to murmur something to an attendant, who immediately broke away to follow her.

Spies – more politics.

It did not take long to catch up with Zuko. His energy had dwindled once he'd escaped from the light of the main square.

"Zuko, wait!" she called, catching up to him at one of the crystalline pagodas. It glistened in the midnight sun of summer, light refracting above them.

He stopped, standing straight and still next to a column of ice. The line of his back quivered with anger, and smoke curled off of the clenched fists he held at his side. He aimed an angry look up at the coruscating light skittering across the ice ceiling above them.

"Doesn't the sun _ever_ set in this damned place?"

"Well, no. It's summer."

She walked cautiously up to him, placing a hand on his arm. He jerked away.

"How can you stand this?"

"I grew up with it," she said simply. "I thought you liked the sun. Being a firebender and all."

"I like it when I can sleep at night," he groused.

This time he let her touch him, and she placed one hand on each of his arms, slowly turning him to look at her. He did look tired, actually. She frowned, wondering why she hadn't noticed, before she reached up to brush his hair aside. He'd been doing that since they talked with the elders the night before, wearing his hair to try to cover his left eye as much as possible. Trying to cover that he'd been healed. His hair was still too short for it to really work, though.

Katara felt a sudden flash of anger. Who the hell did the elders were to tell him he was vain, that his loyalty could be bought? They were nothing more than hypocrites, letting Bei Hu buy _them_!

"We'll be leaving here. Soon, if I have anything to say about it," she said.

"Good," he said, crossing his arms. "I'm sick of this place, and all of the people constantly trying to use me. Long Feng, Bei Hu, Arnook – even those girls at the market! It doesn't stop!"

"Well, it's going to stop now. We don't have to go along with anything they're saying. And we don't need them. We've all managed just fine without the Northern Tribe's help so far. We can defeat the Fire Lord without them."

Zuko was silent for a long moment, eventually agreeing, "Yeah."

"And who do they think they are? Trying to marry us off to each other for _their_ political gain. That's so horrible! No wonder Gran Gran ran away from these people!"

He tilted his head, looking at her curiously.

"Your grandmother is from this Tribe?"

"Yes, that's why I have this," Katara said. She wheeled her hand and pointed to her necklace, giving a slightly abashed smile. Zuko nodded in understanding, but the light in his eyes dimmed quickly.

"Maybe," he started, hesitating and wetting his lips before he continued. "Maybe we should do it."

" _What_?"

"You saw how the Avatar reacted earlier! What good am I if he won't let me teach him? If we agree to get married, then maybe the Northern Tribe will join the invasion. At least I'll be useful, somehow."

"First of all, 'the Avatar' has a name. It's Aang, and he's sometimes a bit of a jerk, but he's a good person, and I _know_ he will realize you are, too. He'll probably be apologizing when we get back, actually," she added after a moment's consideration. She held up a hand, forestalling Zuko's comments before continuing, "And secondly, you don't have to worry about being 'useful' to us. We're not like that."

Zuko waited a moment, before arching his eyebrows.

"And thirdly?" he asked leadingly.

"And thirdly, I don't want to marry you," she said with a perfectly straight face.

Zuko looked so disappointed that Katara almost broke and giggled. Instead, feeling flush with a bravery she'd never felt around a boy before, she stepped even closer to him. She looked up at him beneath lidded eyes, before lifting herself up on her toes and pressing her lips to his softly. Her hands slipped from his neck, coming to rest against his chest. He felt so _warm_ , feverish almost. He held her lightly by the arm, kissing back before she pushed him away gently.

She looked up into his eyes, and added, "Not yet, anyway."

Katara linked her hands behind her back, giving him a coy look as she walked away from him. Her heart pounded in her ears with excitement, and she picked up her pace, a smile breaking out across her face.

She almost didn't notice the shadows breaking away from the wall as she walked past, and when she did, it was all she could do not to taunt them. They'd missed out on all the juicy stuff. Ha! Some spies they were.

It wasn't until the next day that she realized just how wrong she was. They weren't spies. Not at all.


	4. The Compass Points North

Zuko's head rang with the blow that felled him from behind. When he awoke, vision blurred and nausea overwhelming all his other senses, he had been shackled and was being carried between two men. They were on the far edge of the city, the palace's noise only a faint echo in the distance as the men frog-marched him down icy stairs to the temporary dock created for the Bei family ship. He struggled, pulling his arms from his captors' grasps, and succeeded in nothing more than falling face first onto the hard ice. The men laughed, hauling him up roughly. His head swam at the movement, and he was promptly sick on their shoes.

They cursed at him, pushing him up a gangway and onto the ship. The metal deck plates echoed under their heavy steps, and Zuko lolled in their grasp, feeling his gorge rise once again. He clamped his eyes shut, forcing himself to breath while they trooped him below decks.

A door opened, and with a final, cruel laugh, the men shoved him into a room, where he stumbled and fell to the floor.

The sound of an engine humming below decks, guards patrolling above, the vibration of the metal all around him – it was familiar to Zuko. Almost comforting. It was all too easy to fall asleep exactly where he had fallen.

He woke several times during the night. The first time was the most disorienting and disturbing, as the door opened and the room flooded with red tinged light against Zuko's eyelids. He flinched back, curling in on himself. Another prisoner was ushered into the room, the door sealed shut with a loud clang. The man was obviously in better shape than Zuko – since he was still standing and all – but he quickly dropped down to his knees. He took Zuko's head into his lap to examine his injury.

"Uncle?" Zuko asked, opening his eyes carefully as he looked up. The room was mostly dark, but for a porthole allowing in the weak midnight sun. The obligatory candles and oil lamps had been cleared away.

Long Feng frowned down at him. Zuko tried to jerk away from his grasp, but Long Feng held him fast.

"You have a concussion, Prince Zuko," he said. "It would be best if you don't move."

"Great. How are we going to get out of this? If I can't move, I can't firebend!"

"Rest. Bei Hu's opportunism has forced him to overplay his hand. He doesn't have his deal yet. He cannot set sail tonight, and by the morning, your friends will realize you are missing and come for us."

Zuko let out a shaky breath. He didn't know that was true, but he had to hope. His eyes started slipping shut. He tried to fight it, remembering so many stories about soldiers who did not wake up from their head injuries, but Long Feng passed his hand over Zuko's face, lightly pushing his eyelids down.

"Rest," he commanded again. "I will watch over you."

Long Feng prodded him awake several times throughout the night, and as uncomfortable as it was, that was somehow reassuring to Zuko. It became easier to sleep in his presence, easier to believe they would escape in the morning.

The last time Zuko awoke, it was not to Long Feng's practical, yet careful examinations, but instead to the screech of metal on metal as the door was opened. He blinked into the bright morning light flooding the small, cramped room. Bei Hu, followed by three of his guards, strode into the room. Zuko clenched his jaw, fighting down his anger and dizziness both as he tried to focus on the men. All three of the guards wore swords, he noted. Not firebenders.

"Ah, My Prince, I apologize for the rough treatment," Bei Hu said. He motioned with two fingers to a guard, and then man stooped down, helping Zuko to rise. His shackles jangled noisily as he stood, and Zuko winced against the noise. "I had hoped it would not come to this."

Zuko tensed against the man holding him up, before remembering himself and going limp. He was feeling better – to a degree. He felt dizzy and his vision swam any time he moved his head, which wasn't even getting into how much his head hurt. But he still felt his fire racing under his skin, begging to come out, and he didn't want to let on just how much energy he had to these men.

"What do you want from me?" he ground out, glaring up at Bei Hu, who just smiled genially at him.

"I've already told you. I just want to help you. You want the Fire Throne, and I want exclusive trade rights with the Northern Tribe. I hardly think our goals conflict. We could very easily come to a mutually beneficial agreement. You, however, wouldn't even consider it." He spread his hands, giving a slight shrug. "What was I to do?"

"What about _not_ breaking the boy's skull?" Long Feng asked. His tone was pleasant and curious, but there was an undercurrent of steel to it.

"I could not count on him being as reasonable as you were, Long Feng. He does not seem like the type who surrenders without a fight," Bei Hu said.

Zuko strained against his guard, trying to catch Long Feng's eye.

"You _surrendered_?" he exclaimed.

Long Feng tucked his hands into his sleeves, and for the first time, Zuko noticed that his hands were unbound. Little chance of him bending here on the ship, he knew, but the sight grated against his nerves.

"It was not a battle worth fighting," he said. Zuko glowered at him; what else wasn't "worth" fighting for? Long Feng held Bei Hu's gaze as he continued, "Besides, I felt like it was about time for you and I to have an honest discussion."

"Go on," Bei Hu said.

"You don't want a rival marriage contract disrupting your future rule of the Northern Tribe," Long Feng said, eyes narrowing as he took Bei Hu's measure. "Prince Hahn is a twit, and the only people who haven't yet noticed are the Northerners. You're effectively placing your daughter on the throne. You won't just control trade, but the entire Tribe itself."

"Chen? But she's just a girl," Bei Hu said, tone swimming in irony. He smiled. "Northern customs don't allow her that much power."

"Northern customs have blinded them to what you are actually doing. Your peace treaty is a farce. Can you even guarantee the Tribe's safety from the Fire Nation?"

"The Fire Nation has no interest in attacking again."

"That didn't answer the question," Zuko said, glaring back at Bei Hu. He knew exactly what it meant, though. The peace treaty would be real enough, with official documents and seals. Zuko's father had probably even signed off on it, in the vague way he treated all paperwork not directly related to the war itself. But the minute his eye turned again toward unconquered territory, all the seals in the world would be meaningless.

"You are very clever," Bei Hu said. He gave an admiring look to Long Feng, who bowed slightly in return – gestures of respect given to equals. "But you have one thing wrong. I don't oppose the marriage contract between Prince Zuko and Katara of the Southern Tribe. I would just like to make it clear to him that we don't _need_ to be in opposition. I'm trying to give you another chance."

Zuko laughed.

"You're kidding, right?"

Bei Hu's face shuttered immediately, losing all of the friendliness he had been trying to project. He gestured to a different soldier, who pulled a rolled piece of paper from his belt. He snapped his wrist, unfurling it, and held it out in front of his face. Zuko swallowed back his anger as he stared at the familiar paper: his own death warrant.

It had been reissued, this time with a new picture and further crimes detailed. "Treachery in the battle of Ba Sing Se." And he was not alone. Next to him, Long Feng himself had been drawn. His death or capture would be rewarded, although not so richly as Zuko's own. No wonder Bei Hu hadn't been able to wait any longer. The warrant must have been burning a hole in his pocket since it arrived the morning before.

"What I want, Prince Zuko, is a member of the royal family who is capable of acknowledging my accomplishments," Bei Hu said. "And if it is not you, then perhaps it can be your father, or even your sister."

Zuko snorted.

"If you think that, you _really_ don't know them. Your execution will be the opening act for mine. My father has no use for ambitious men who go behind his back. "

"Really? That's not what I heard about Admiral Zhao." He lifted an eyebrow, and turned to leave. He signaled to the guards, and Zuko was thrust toward Long Feng who just barely kept him steady enough to stay upright. The other guard threw the death warrant at him with a ruthless smirk, before the entire group turned to leave. Over his shoulder, Bei Hu added, "I will leave you to think on it. I have a treaty to sign."

The door closed behind him with a loud clang, and the metal under Zuko's feet shuddered with the force of it. He shrugged off Long Feng's help, glaring down fiercely at the shackles around his hands and ankles.

"He shouldn't have left us alone," Zuko said, flame bursting out from knuckles.

"What are you doing?"

"You may be content to wait to be rescued, but _I'm_ going to escape!"

Zuko breathed out sharply through his nose, focusing on the core of anger burning in his chest. Folding his hand in half, he angled it toward the chain and flared the anger out as a dagger of fire from his fingertips. With one swift stroke, he cut through the links. Molten drops of metal dropped to the floor. Carefully, he turned his attention to the shackles around his feet. He bent over to cut them aside, but immediately swayed to the side as his head pounded in pain. He flailed, arms wheeling out and clutching at a stack of boxes. He crumpled to the floor, panting dizzily as he tried to calm his stomach.

When he finally did, he looked up to see Long Feng watching him skeptically.

"What?" Zuko snapped.

"Escape indeed."

* * *

Aang hovered on the threshold of the central room connecting their suite in the palace. Well, not _hovered_ hovered. He felt that would be sort of tacky, given what he'd done the night before. He just stood, trying to take comfort in Momo's chittering as the lemur curled around his shoulders. Of course, the moment Aang reached up to pet Momo, he jumped away, flapping his wings to fly across the room before settling on Toph's lap. Pouting a bit, Aang sighed and continued to watch Katara, Sokka, and Toph as they ate breakfast, pushing his fingers together as he tried to think of how to apologize.

The last time they stayed at the palace, they'd been given a very nicely outfitted room that was perfectly sized for the three of them. This time, despite the disfavor the group was in, their rooms were actually bigger and nicer – owing to the sheer size of their party, no doubt. Three adjoining rooms had been given to the group, as well as a dining area situated in the middle. It was decorated with the imposing totem ice carvings typical of the tribe, with a soft carpeting of koala-otter furs on the floor, and a polished ivory table. Servants had come by before anyone in the group awoke, setting the table with a cold breakfast, which Aang had been exceedingly grateful for. Dealing with the Northern Tribe and the Fire Nation delegation wasn't really something he wanted to do when he first woke up, and especially not when he was still fighting with Katara.

He took his first step into the room, straightening his shoulders as he worked up his bravery. Best to just go ahead and do it.

"So, where's Sparky?" Toph asked thickly through a mouthful of _zhou_. Aang froze, staring at her. Oh, come on!

"I'm sure Katara wouldn't know anything about that. Eh? _Eh_?" Sokka said, nudging his sister with his shoulder. She flushed prettily, batting him to the side.

"No, I wouldn't!"

"Not fair, you gotta give me something to work with. I told you about Suki!"

Katara squinted at him.

"No, you didn't."

"Oh, huh. Yeah. I didn't." Sokka scratched his neck thoughtfully before shrugging. "But if he wasn't with you, where'd ol' loverboy end up? He didn't come back to the room last night."

"He didn't come back?" Katara asked.

Aang felt apprehension lurch in his stomach. That wasn't good, not at all. He had tried his best not to let his eyes wander back to Katara and Zuko after he stormed off, but there was only so much talk about the " _mang_ " he could take from Hana before he felt himself involuntarily slipping into the Avatar State. It'd just sort of been inevitable that he would see Arnook go to talk to them, and that he would see Zuko storm off. He had tried not to think deeply about what happened when Katara took off after him, but now he was forced to wonder. Something had clearly gone wrong.

"I don't like this," Aang said aloud. "Something must have happened."

Katara stiffened at his voice, turning for the first time to acknowledge him. Her blue eyes were upset and disappointed when they met his. He'd _meant_ to apologize last night, really he had. He was just too upset still, and he was working on that. It just wasn't nearly as easy as Guru Pathik made it out to be.

"Glad to know you care," she said coolly.

"What do you think happened?" Toph interjected, cutting Aang off before he could talk. Momo pushed his head against her hand, and she obligingly petted him as she mulled the situation. "Was it Long Feng?"

"No," Sokka said, shaking his head. "Much as I _still_ don't like the guy, he's been our side. Must have been Bei Hu."

"But what about the peace-bond?" Aang asked. Not that he _didn't_ want to blame the guy, but fair was fair. Had to give him a chance.

Sokka shrugged.

"I broke it – and Hahn's _face_ , incidentally! – and I'm still here."

"Besides, who else has motive to drag Zuko back to his dad for the bounty? It messes up Long Feng's proposal to the elders and it'll help him buy the Fire Lord's favor. I think Bei Hu's our guy," Katara reasoned.

"So what are we going to do?" Aang asked.

Katara stood up huffily, crossing her arms as she glared at him.

"We're going to _rescue_ him, Aang!"

"No, that's not what I—"

"And I'm getting really sick of this! I know you're jealous, or whatever, but you need to just get over it! You said you were 'giving me up' – your words, not mine! So, I really don't think you have any right to be acting like this just because I kissed him!"

"Ha, I knew it!" Sokka crowed, while Toph snickered.

Aang stared at her, all regret for his words the night before slipping away.

"You _kissed_ him? How could you do that, after everything he's done? He burned you!"

"To save my life!" she shouted. She strode across the room in two long paces, looming over him as she poked her finger into his chest. "What is wrong with you? Zuko's changed! He's a good person, and he's helped us a lot since Ba Sing Se."

"When I couldn't, you mean," Aang replied. That was what it all boiled down to, wasn't it? He screwed up. He didn't want to give Katara up, and she almost _died_ because of that. If it hadn't been for Zuko, she would have died, and he was sick inside at the thought.

He stared back at her, expression tight and unhappy until she looked away. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, at a loss for words.

"Well," Sokka started, voice pitched calm and even as he tried to defuse the tension. He stood slowly, looking ready to break Katara and Aang apart if need be. "You were pretty out of it, Aang. Lightning does that. Apparently."

Sokka looked over to Toph, hoping for a little bit of back up. She sat perfectly straight as she listened, idly scratching between Momo's ears. Her expression, what she hadn't covered up again in furs anyway, looked intent and her growing irritation pinched her small features.

Aang's shoulders hunched as he drew in on himself.

"Yeah, it _does_. Hurts too. And if you remember, I got _hit_ saving Zuko."

"Whoa, hey! Time to back off there, Twinkletoes," Toph called. "We know you did a good thing. _Everyone_ did their part."

"Did they?" Aang asked. "I don't remember Zuko firebending anything!"

Toph let out an exasperated breath, smacking her hand against the table.

"No, he didn't. Do you wanna know why? Because he was _happy_."

"What?" Katara asked, turning to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"I think I know," Aang said slowly. Everyone turned to look at him, and he shifted under the attention, looking at them each in turn. "Monk Gyatso always taught me that I needed to find my center and my purpose before I could bend, and never to rely completely on emotion. That it could guide me, and I could use my bending to express how I felt, but I should never root my bending in my feelings."

"Right. I just don't think the Fire Nation is so 'enlightened'," Toph said, tone dripping with sarcasm on the word. Aang pulled a face at her, and then immediately felt guilty; that was more fun on solid land, when she'd get the gist. "I'm betting they teach firebenders to _always_ draw their power from their anger, and they all get the same focus drilled into them: win the war."

"Or in Zuko's case, capture the Avatar," Sokka concluded. He aimed a look over at his sister, adding, "So, you healing his scar and him joining us messed him up on both counts."

Katara shook her head.

"But that doesn't make any sense! If healing his scar made Zuko happy, then why could he bend to save me?"

Aang swallowed deeply. She was wrong. It made perfect sense.

"Because he felt it was his fault. You saved him, and he couldn't fight to save you. What else would he feel after that, but angry at himself? That's exactly how I've felt since Ba Sing Se," he said quietly.

"Aang…" Katara started. "I didn't realize –"

"No, Katara, it's my fault," he said. He touched her on the arm, urging her to look at him. "I didn't say anything, and I was being a jerk, and I'm really sorry."

He bowed deeply, showing his respect for her as his waterbending master, as his friend, and as his family. He bit his lip, holding the bow, and peeked up at her expression uncertainly. She had a watery, sad smile on her face, and it wasn't long before she pulled him into a hug.

"Oh, Aang, I forgive you!" she said, stepping back to look down at him. "But can we stop doing this? I hate arguing with you."

"Me too!"

"Well, that's going to make things a lot more boring," Toph said glumly, mashing her face up against her hand as she rested her elbow on the table.

"Not likely," Sokka said. "Now, down to business. How are we going to rescue Zuko? Whoever took him done must have been really something."

"And there's still the peace-bond," Katara added. She tossed a look over at Sokka. "We've already pressed our luck with that enough. If we want Chief Arnook to listen to us, we'll need to be careful."

"I have an idea," Aang said. He paused, mouth twisting ruefully, before he added, "But even I don't really like it."

It was a heavily armed Team Avatar – Aang with his staff, Katara with her refilled waterskin, and Sokka with both boomerang and machete in hand – that stalked down the halls of the palace. Aang walked purposefully, keeping an eye out for any Fire Nation soldiers, or sign that they were heading the right way.

"There it is!" Sokka called out. He pointed down the hall with his machete, and the group followed his lead, running toward a door.

"How do you know?" Aang asked.

Sokka tapped a Fire Nation insignia engraved into the ice wall.

"Oh," Katara said blankly. "That was thoughtful."

Aang squared his shoulders and, stepping up to the down, reached out to rap loudly on the ice. He raised his staff into a ready position, and saw both Katara and Sokka do the same from the corner of his eye. Toph, rather than falling back, also got ready, pulling out some kind of bag. Maybe a bag of sand? Aang shot her a puzzled look, and that was when the door to the Bei rooms creaked open.

"Um," started Hana's childishly sweet voice. "You can come in, but the door's really heavy. Can you help me?"

Aang exchanged a look with Katara, tossing his staff into his off hand to joining her in bending the door open completely. Rather than waiting behind the door, Hana had already gone back to her table in the center of the room. The suite was set up much the same as their own, although with many more marks of the family upon the space. A red silk robe lay discarded over a chair by the window and a brush finely inlaid with mother of pearl had been left on a small table by the door. Hana's dolls were arrayed around the table, and she busily served tea to them, her back turned to the group.

"Where's your family, Hana?" Aang asked curiously. Hopefully not in their rooms. That would really mess up his plan.

"The ceremony," she said with a pout. "I didn't want to go. Everything is _always_ about stupid Chen!"

Sokka crossed his arms thoughtfully, nodding as he agreed with her.

"Yeah. That's rough. Sisters can be such pains." Katara elbowed him sharply in the side. "Ow! See?"

Aang walked over to Hana and knelt before her on the furs. She was dressed perfectly in her Fire Nation robes, face painted like a china-doll, although some streaking was apparent from where tears had smudged her make-up. She continued pretending to pour for her dolls, nodding to each of them in turn before daintily raising her own cup.

"Hana, I want to ask you a favor…" he began, eying the tea party warily. He knew this was going to cost him, but he had to hope he'd be able to pay another way.

"You want my help?" she asked, turning excitedly to look up at him.

"Uh, yeah." Behind Aang, Katara and Sokka were casually exploring the apartments, opening the closed doors in case it was _just that easy_. Unfortunately, it wasn't. "Can you get me and my friends onto your dad's ship? We've never been on one before."

"Sure!" Aang breathed out a sigh of relief and smiled, throwing a thumbs-up over his shoulder to Sokka. He started to pick himself up off the floor, when Hana continued, "But you hafta do something for me too, Aang."

"What kind of thing?"

She jumped up and flung herself at him, hugging his middle. He tried to peel her off, but she wouldn't let go, grinning up at him.

"Take me _flying_!"

* * *

Hana's request was easily fulfilled, actually. The group snuck down to the stables. Aang led Appa out into the sun and while Katara and Sokka worked on saddling him. Toph, in her own words, "supervised." A couple of liberated bags of feed later, they were in the air, and Katara couldn't help but smile in bemusement as the little girl shouted her raw glee into the air.

"She honestly doesn't seem so bad," she said to Aang, looking back at Hana from where she and Aang sat on Appa's head.

"Yeah, I guess."

Sokka crept forward on Appa's back and gripped the horn of the saddle, looking between Aang and Hana as he asked, "Are you sure about this? I feel a little bad taking a kid on a rescue mission."

"She's not going to get involved, Sokka. All she needs to do is get onto the ship, and then get out of the way. If we're really sneaky about it, maybe there won't even be that much fighting."

Katara furrowed her brow in worry as she considered that. It was true that Bei Hu's entourage was small, but so was his ship. There probably wouldn't be anywhere to hide on board, for them or Bei Hu's guards. He didn't seem to have much of a fighting force with him. But at the same time, what fighters he _did_ have were obviously quite powerful. Zuko wasn't exactly a pushover.

"What?" Toph shouted into the wind. "No fighting? Not on _my watch_!"

Katara opened her mouth, ready to admonish Toph that they really didn't need a fight right now, but Appa was already splashing down into the water. Aang set him down right alongside the pier extending out from the city's wall, and directly across from Bei Hu's ship. Aang jumped down gracefully, and Sokka hauled Toph onto his back before making the leap. Katara gave a reassuring smile to Hana and took her by the hand, sliding down Appa's side to the dock. Momo flapped his wings, flying down to join them.

Katara raised her eyebrow at the lemur, and pointed back at Appa.

"Why don't you stay here, and stand guard?"

Momo blinked at her, staring at her hand before he flew back. Katara propped a hand on her hip, turning to look at Aang.

"So, how do you want to do this?"

"Uh. I was thinking we could just walk up… and ask?"

She tapped her fingers on her side, pursing her lips before she shrugged.

"Worth a shot, I guess."

Already Hana was dropping her hand, running up the gangplank ahead of them. Aang jumped into the air, floating down next to her, and Sokka gamely followed with Toph in tow. Katara stared after them, worrying her lip as she felt her trepidation rise. She secured her waterskin firmly, putting on a determined expression as she followed them up.

The ship reminded Katara viscerally of the prison ship she and Haru had spent time on. It was a big metal hulk, sitting low in the water, with no decoration in sight. It was menacing and stark in comparison to the nearby Water Tribe ships, although hardly any larger.

Two guards sat on the deck of the ship before a low table, pai sho tiles clinking against the playing board as they made their moves. Their kwan swords lay propped against the railing, out of reach for both men. One of the guards, a very young, weedy looking man, rested his chin on his hand and flipped a tile over the knuckles of his other hand as he thought. Menacing, they were not.

Hana cleared her throat, and rather than snapping to attention, the two men barely looked up to spare her a glance.

"I'm going to my room, and my friends are coming with me," she announced.

This time, they did look. And look again, eyes widening in shock as they took in who exactly her friends were. Aang grinned, giving them a friendly wave.

"Your friend is the _Avatar_?" the weedy man asked.

His companion was far less impressed, however. Surprise wearing off, his attention was already drifting back to his game.

"Eh," he said lightly. "Seems legit to me."

"Did you ask your father first, Hana?" the first guard asked suspiciously.

"That's a really dumb question, Xiu Xi," Hana said. She drew herself up, lifting her chin haughtily. "You know Daddy is busy right now. He just wants me to have fun. And he is _not_ going to be happy to hear that you're playing pai sho instead of working again."

The guard settled back, looking around furtively.

"You won't really tell him that, will you?"

"Of course not," Hana said. She reached backwards, grabbing Aang by the hand. "We're going to go play with my _mang_ dolls."

She walked away, toward an opening in the floor that led below decks, Aang clamped awkwardly to her side. Sokka gave the two men a jaunty salute, strolling after them, and Katara hurried to join him, trying not to make eye contact with the guards. Toph fell into step beside her, stomping happily on the metal and flexing her hands in preparation for fighting.

"Oh, this is going to be good," she said, glee lighting up her face.

Down the staircase, the hall was lit with only a handful of oil lamps, Fire Nation banners hanging from the walls alternating with seal-bear and star Bei family crests. Aang turned around, placing his hands on Hana's shoulders.

"Thanks for your help, but you need to wait here. If any fighting comes toward you, just run above deck and tell the guards you want them to take you to your dad, okay?" The little girl nodded. Aang started to walk away, but wheeled about, spinning fully in place. He raised a finger, waving it at Hana. "And another thing. Can you _not_ say the word ' _mang_ '? It's really not okay."

Hana looked confused.

"What should I say?"

"Why not just say 'airbenders'?"

"Daddy said that's a bad word."

Aang scowled, raising his fisted hands up toward his head – if he'd had hair, Katara was sure he'd be pulling it. He seemed to count to himself, and deliberately softened his expression, trying again, "Or how about 'Aang's people'?"

Her face lit up.

"Aang's people! That's perfect." She rushed forward, hugging Aang briefly, before respectfully backing off to give him a bow. She sat down on the steps, tucking her robes underneath her like a proper lady. The group took up positions in front of her on the landing right in front of the inner hatch, and Hana cheered, "Good luck, Avatar Aang!"

Toph eagerly took point, banging the hatch open. So much for subtlety, Katara thought, rolling her eyes.

Down the corridor, two men stood in front of a door. They startled at the noise, grabbing their kwan swords and turning defensively to face the group. At the same time, a hatch opposite from the guards swung open.

An old man peeked out around the edge of the door, frowning as he turned his head to admonish them, "Keep it down! Some of us are trying to sleep!"

"Not a chance, grandpa!" Toph shouted.

She opened the bag at her side, bending several small crystals free of it. She clenched her fist, and lunged forward, opening her hand as she fired the crystals at the man. Eyes widening, the old man dodged back behind the door, and the crystals door in a series of terrifyingly fast pops. One ricocheted off to sting one of the guards on his hand. He dropped his kwan sword, shaking out the pain. He gave them an alarmed look, but Toph wasn't done yet. With a fierce cry, she charged down the hall, seizing the edge of the open hatch. Aang followed right behind her, airpushing the guard forward just as she pummeled and twisted the metal, half-circling the guard and leaving him helplessly pinned.

The second guard fell back, eyes darting between Aang and Toph. His hand trembled on his kwan sword, and he actually looked on the verge of dropping it for a moment before he gripped it more forcefully.

Sokka pulled his boomerang out, tongue poking out of his mouth as he aimed. Toph beat him to the punch, kicking a heel into the floor. The metal rippled under her bending, throwing the guard into the air. She sank clawed fingers into the wall and pulled hard. The seams of the metal broke and the section of the wall twisted out of shape – hitting the guard square in the face.

He fell to the floor, unconscious.

Toph bared her teeth victoriously, and thrust her arm out, pointing dead at the old man in the other room.

"You got something to say?" she asked.

"Uh. No. Not at all. I'm just gonna… do this," he said weakly. He backed up a couple of paces until his legs hit his bunk. He sat, knees tucked together, eyes wide with fear as he stared at her. "Carry on."

"Yeah, that's right. Fear me!" she crowed.

Katara pursed her lips, stepping closer to Sokka. Aang joined them.

"You know, sometimes I'm _really_ happy she's on our side," Aang said.

"Seriously," Sokka agreed. "Can you imagine what would have happened if Azula found her first?"

They all three shuddered at the thought. Katara could imagine, but she _really_ didn't want to.

"Toph, if you're _done_ cackling, we've got another door over here for you," she called out. It took a moment for Toph to collect herself again, but she rejoined them eagerly enough, breaking down the door with more force than perfectly necessary.

Katara pushed past her, rushing into the room, a waterwhip curled around her hand. It proved unnecessary. Inside, there were only boxes – fruit and bowls and rice – and two huddled figures. Zuko sat crumpled on the floor while Long Feng leaned down, alternating between patting Zuko's back and eying the mess on his shoes distastefully.

"What is that _smell_?" Toph asked, holding up a hand to cover her mouth.

Ugh, it looked like someone had thrown up in there. Katara cracked her whip and then changed her stance, pushing the water up with two hands to carry the mess out the porthole.

"Your rescue efforts, I'm afraid, did not play well for Prince Zuko's concussion," Long Feng explained. He drew himself back and stepped away, pretending impartiality. Katara gave him an odd look. Did he actually care?

"Sorry," Zuko mumbled.

Katara's heart lurched, looking at him. He looked pale under his sweaty flush, and she was quick to rush to his side. She drew more water from her waterskin, shaping it into gloves. She held the water to his temples, cupping his face as she sought to heal his injury. He closed his eyes, breathing coming easier as she worked.

"Toph?" she called. "Do you think you can do something about his manacles?"

Toph cracked her knuckles, stretching out.

"I don't think, Sugar Queen. I do."

She sauntered over to Zuko and ran her hands around the manacle binding his right wrist. The chain hung limply between his hands, already severed, but Katara didn't really think the cuffs weren't altogether comfortable for him. Concentration furrowed Toph's brow as she decided how to approach the problem, and then she struck out with two quick blows from her fingers, denting the metal. She worked her fingertips into the dents, prying at the metal until it gave way with a great screech and fell to the floor. Repeating this three more times, she made quick work of the other manacles.

Zuko rubbed at his wrists, giving Toph a grateful look.

"Thanks," he said softly.

She saluted him with two fingers.

"No problem, Sparky."

"What happened?" Katara asked. "Where are the rest of the guards who took you? We only saw two."

Zuko looked away from her, embarrassed.

"There only were two."

Sokka and Aang snickered behind her. Katara endeavored to ignore them, but she felt a smile twitching at the corner of her mouth.

"I was distracted!" Zuko snapped, and Katara just could help it. A full blown grin broke out on her face.

"Well, then, I suppose I'll have to avoid _distracting_ you in the future," she said nonchalantly. His face fell, and Katara giggled, tugging him closer to peck him on the cheek. "Just kidding!"

She stood gracefully, extending a hand out to him. He took it after only a moment of hesitation, and with only a little wobbling, scowling at Sokka and Aang. The two put on angelic expressions, right up until Sokka leaned down to whisper in Aang's ear. He pointed to where Katara and Zuko still clasped hands, and the both erupted in deliberate laughter.

"You two are going to be intolerable, aren't you?" she asked with a sigh.

"Plan on it!" Aang replied. He grinned mischievously, and Katara pressed her lips together ruefully. Aang not being jealous was nice. Aang taunting her _forever_ , however, was not. She guessed she'd just have to live with that.

"Excuse me?" Toph asked. "What's this 'you two', thing? I demand to be intolerable too!"

Katara reached out, messing Toph's hair up.

"Oh, you already are, Toph. You already _are_."

"How precious," Long Feng put in. He sat on one of the boxes of apples, robes arranged neatly around him. "However, Avatar, I think perhaps you should consider what your next move is – that is, what you plan to do _beyond_ childishly teasing your friends."

Toph held up her hand.

"I vote we get the hell out of here." She paused and then added, "And steal this boat."

"I'm with Toph," Sokka announced.

He immediately began browsing through the boxes. Selecting an apple he liked, he shined it on his tunic and bit into it. Katara rolled her eyes at him. She nudged Zuko, drawing his attention.

"What do you think? You _are_ the one they kidnapped. Do you really think we should just leave without telling anyone about that?"

He furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

"I don't know. It's not like the Northern Tribe were big fans of me; I'm not sure they'd care, or that it would change anything. Besides, I _do_ like stealing. And boats."

Katara's eyebrows climbed toward her hairline. Someone still sounded a little bit concussed, there. Probably would have been better if she'd been able to heal him the night before.

"Then it's settled!" Toph said. She rubbed her hands together in anticipation, cracking her knuckles. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go toss a couple of fools off of my boat."

"Whoa, hold up there, Toph," Katara said. She snagged the other girl by the back of her tunic, preventing her from walking out the door. "You can't just throw Hana into the ocean! _Or_ the other people on board. And we can't leave, not yet! Chief Arnook is due to sign the peace treaty right now! They have to hear about this!"

"Katara's got a point," Aang said, rubbing his chin.

She nodded sharply back at them, and despite a little bit of grumbling from Toph – and a moderate amount of fruit filching from Sokka – they prepared themselves to leave. All of them, that was, except for Long Feng.

Aang frowned, looking back at him from the doorway.

"Uh, aren't you coming?"

"No, I rather think not," Long Feng said calmly. "I feel Bei Hu and I still have much to discuss – and much in common, as well."

" _What_?" Zuko asked. "How can you say that?"

"How can you want to go with him – that's just letting him win!" Katara exclaimed.

Long Feng gave her a condescending look.

"I should think a waterbender would know more about adaptability. Bei Hu is a short-sighted fool, cunning though he may be otherwise. His 'victory' today has done nothing but court the wrath of the Fire Lord. He tried to defuse that by kidnapping Prince Zuko, but without that gambit his best course of action is to keep his head down and avoid drawing the attention of Fire Lord Ozai. He can only hope he devises a new way to curry favor with Fire Lord Ozai _before_ anyone notices he has placed his daughter on the throne of the Northern Water Tribe.

"In such circumstances, resentment begins to boil," he continued with a glint in his eyes. "We are seeking civil war here, children. Allies _among_ the Fire Nation nobles would not go amiss. I feel I may yet persuade him, if I can get him to put aside his not inconsiderable ego and see that it is Prince Zuko _he_ should support, rather than the reverse."

"But what about your stupid marriage contract plan?" Aang asked, an accusatory look on his face.

Long Feng shrugged.

"It didn't work out. Plainly. Now, you should hurry, or you will miss the end of the ceremony. I am confident I will see you again. Everyone has underestimated you, Avatar, as I once did. Take advantage of that," he advised. He turned his attention to Zuko, inclining his head slightly. "You never did answer my questions about monarchy, or the validity of King Kuei's rule. I look forward to discussing that further with you, Prince Zuko. I will meet you on the Day of Black Sun, in the palace, and I expect you to have answers prepared by then."

Zuko gave his a small smile, and bowed to him with fists pressed together in the style of the Earth Kingdom.

"I look forward to it."

They turned and left, jogging down the corridor to the staircase. Behind them, the old man peeked warily out from his hiding place, only to shrink back once more when Toph tugged at the wall, making it ripple and wave like a ribbon before his face. Above decks, Hana had joined the guards and was applauding the pai sho move the weedy guard had just made. Aang waved both to her and the guards as they ran past, leaping over the gangplank entirely and flipping his glider open to bridge the gap to Appa's back.

The rest of them made it over in less style.

Clambering back onto Appa's back, Toph paused.

"Did Long Feng just betray us?"

Sokka tapped his lip thoughtfully.

"You know, that was really unclear."

"No, it wasn't!" Zuko said, glaring defensively at them. "He's not actually joining Bei Hu!"

"Uh huh. Well, either way, we have a ceremony to go crash!"

"Yeah," Aang said, sounding distant and uncertain.

He bit his lip, looking down at the city as they flew over. It sparkled beneath them, and Katara wondered what he was thinking about.

Shattering the ice skylight of the palace's great hall was really satisfying. So too were the stunned expressions of everyone gathered together on the dais as they watched Appa land right in the middle of the hall. The elders looked suitably appalled, and Chief Arnook looked annoyed, while Bei Hu seemed both fearful and outraged. Katara smirked down at him. Oh, he was going down.

Standing in the center of the dais were both Hahn and Chen. They were weighed down by ceremonial robes, in exchanged colors. Chen wore the deep blue of the Water Tribe, a fur trimmed collar brushing her cheeks, while elaborately looped braids hung down around her face. A betrothal necklace stood out among the finery, gleaming around her neck. Next to her, Hahn was swathed in Fire Nation red, topknot held together by a Water Tribe charm.

"Stop the wedding!" Sokka shouted, jumping down from Appa. He stuck out his chest proudly as he landed and pointed directly up at Bei Hu. "That man is not who you think he is!"

Chief Arnook looked between Bei Hu, standing by his side with an annoyed expression, and Sokka.

"It's not a wedding," he eventually said.

Katara shared a look with Zuko, and they slid down Appa's back together. She crept up on her brother, ready to stop him in case he said anything too stupid. Which, actually, he already had.

"Well, just stop it. Whatever it is. Ow! Katara, let go!" he said, struggling in her grasp as she hauled him back.

Aang floated down from Appa's back, staff in his hand. Katara, Sokka, and Zuko stood behind him, providing what back up they could – Toph clung to Zuko's arm, displeased with once more being on ice. Katara wondered vaguely if she had any of that crystal stuff left. Of course, if she did, Bei Hu would probably be ducking right now.

"Chief Arnook, I think it's time I had my fair say," Aang said, pitching his voice loud to fill the entire hall.

"Very well," Chief Arnook said. Many of the elders on the dais shook their heads, murmuring break out among them, but he sent them a sharp look, silencing them. "Go ahead, Avatar Aang."

Aang stepped closer, turning to the side as he cast a look back at his friends. Sokka nodded encouragingly to him, and Katara smiled supportively, but he still looked apprehensive. Aang frowned, looking down at the ice beneath his feet.

"Things have changed a lot in the past hundred years," he started quietly. A little too quietly. The elders leaned in, straining to hear him. "It's been a long time for all of you, but for me it was just yesterday. Sometimes I still have trouble. I wonder if all of this is real. If I'm just going to wake up one day, back at the Air Temple, and forget about this awful nightmare.

"But when I look at my friends, I know it's all real – the good parts and the bad," he said, looking up with clear, gray eyes. "So much has been lost and can't ever be regained. I'll never talk to another Air Nomad again, or ride the Omashu delivery system with my friend Bumi again. I'll never see my friend Kuzon from the Fire Nation again."

The murmuring from before returned with force. The skeptical eyes of the elders examined Aang critically; Bei Hu was beginning to look relieved, if not even comfortable. Hahn, of course, continued to look confused.

Despite herself, Katara actually sympathized with him. She leaned over to ask Sokka, "Uh, do you have any idea where he's going with this?"

"Nope."

"That's my fault," Aang continued, voice gaining strength. "I wasn't here when I should have been. I've been thinking about that a lot. My duties as the Avatar, and how I've let the people I care about down. I'm supposed to bring balance to the world. I'm supposed to seek and support peace."

Sokka's jaw dropped.

"No…"

"He _wouldn't_ ," Katara whispered, horror dawning on her as well.

"Some things we thought were lost _can_ be regained," Aang said, directing a look back toward Zuko, who shifted under the attention. He straightened his back, giving an even, actually sort of regal look back at Aang. "And other things can be new, changed but no less good for it – like a prayer bead that becomes a little girl's favorite charm. The Fire Nation was a peaceful ally once, and I can't stand in the way of anyone who would want that again."

He drew himself up, inclining his head formally to them.

"As Avatar, I give my blessing to this peace treaty and marriage contract."

"Aang," Sokka hissed. "What are you doing?"

"What I think is right, Sokka," Aang said, a sad smile on his face. He looked older, for it, responsibility giving him age and dignity no child could possess.

Katara stared at him, trying to struggle through all the emotions swirling within her. He seemed so confident in his decision, but it went against everything they had fought for. She crossed her arms uncertainly, hugging them to herself. Beside her, she could feel Zuko watching her in concern. Tentatively, he placed a hand on her shoulder, and she leaned into it.

"How could you do this?" she whispered again.

Back still turned to her, Aang flinched at her words.

"Katara," Zuko said, into her ear. "He's giving us the chance to lose with honor."

She swallowed back her anger, nodding stiffly at his words. He was right, she knew, and maybe even Arnook was right to do this, but it still hurt. She couldn't help thinking about her mother, about eighty-five years of peace between the Northern Tribe and the Fire Nation while _her_ tribe was whittled down to nothing.

But maybe that was Aang's point. The past was filled with death and shattered lives, and it was as resolutely unchangeable as it was painful. If we don't begin forgiving somewhere, we never will, Katara thought. She looked up at Zuko, anchoring herself on _that_ apology, _that_ healed relationship.

On the dais, Bei Hu put an arm around his daughter's shoulder. Together, they bowed deeply to Aang.

"Thank you, Avatar," they intoned together.

Okay, but she _still_ didn't like that guy.

"That's fantastic," Zuko said flatly. He stepped forward, jabbing a finger out at them. "But just remember, the Avatar does not speak for _me_. You've made your bed; the both of you."

"Seconded," Sokka said, pulling out an apple from his tunic.

Katara felt her temper snap, and snatched it from him.

She threw the apple directly at Bei Hu. Very unfortunately, he caught it.

"Have your peace," she said to him, jaw clenching. "I hope you choke on it."

Uneasy silence settled in the hall. There was little to do, but leave. Still shaking with emotion, it took Katara two tries to remount Appa, shaking off Aang's help each time. The elders stared up at them, disapproval mixed with hostility. Keelut in particular seemed to take exception to their continued presence. Katara was really not going to miss that guy. Hahn and Chen rejoined each other on the dais; she slipped her hand into his, a pleasantly neutral expression on her face as she watched them.

"And just in case you get any ideas, we know you've been in contact with Princess Azula," Aang said. He looked down at Bei Hu from on top of Appa's head. The man grimaced. Aang grinned at him, gesturing widely to everyone in the hall, "Now everyone else knows too. It'll make your treaty more interesting, won't it?"

Aang's eyes and tattoos flared blue, and his voice resounding with an otherworldly tone as he added, " _Don't_ follow us."

Wind whipped through the hall as Appa lifted off, and Katara could not deny the relief she felt _leaving_. She never thought he would feel that way about the Water Tribe.

"It's not a victory for them," Aang reminded her, voice quiet and solemn. He looked over Appa's saddle to the hall below. "That's what Long Feng said."

"I hope not," she said. Her grim satisfaction at his parting shot was fading, leaving her only with ambivalence. She was silent for a long moment, before realization hit her. "Hey, you did it! You went into the Avatar State!"

Aang gave her a small, proud smile, and Katara pulled him into a hug.

"So… we're good?" he asked into her shoulder.

She gave him a rueful look.

"I wish we could have broken up all of his plans, but I guess I understand your point." She nodded at him. "We're good."

He grinned, and they broke apart, Aang climbing over the saddle to sit on Appa's head once more. She settled onto the back of the saddle, tugging on Zuko's arm until he joined her. Sokka lay down caddy-corner to her feet, grumbling when she accidentally kicked him, while Toph rested her cheek on the edge of the saddle, looking sightlessly out toward nothing. Momo fluttered off of the saddle to fly at Appa's side.

It wasn't long before they broke above the wispy arctic clouds.

"So, what next?" Sokka asked.

"Can we go somewhere we don't lose?" Toph asked. "I'm just saying. I never lost. And then I met you guys."

"Sure, Toph," Katara said, feeling tired. "We'll go somewhere we win. _For you_."

"That's all I ask."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The apple thing. Another pun. Sorry. In Chinese, apples are strongly associated with peace (and hence a common Christmas gift). Apple is "ping guo" (苹果), while one word for peace is "ping [an]" (平安). Remember the bit in Mulan? "An apple for serenity"? Yep. Same thing.


End file.
